A Year of Punishment
by KurleyChain
Summary: Sasuke is brought back to the Leaf and has to under go a year of probation before the village elders will trust him again and will only allow him to be a ninja again if he follows their demands, which includes learning to deal with his hate. SasuNaru pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Naruto or any related characters. _

Chapter 1: Punishment

Black eyes stared back at him, devoid of emotion. They focused on the forehead protector which glinted in the mirror from the candles around the room. The symbol of The Leaf was etched on its surface with a crudely drawn line across the center. The Uchiha frowned slightly at the symbol. It was one of his punishments bestowed upon him by the Hokage after his return to the village. His dark eyes closed as he went over the details of his return.

"For a years' time you are under probation," the Godaime Hokage said chin resting on her interlaced fingers "during that time you are prohibited from leaving the village or serving as a ninja in any regard."

Before she could continue a loud protest came from behind him as Naruto Uzumaki pointed a finger at her, "What is he supposed to do for a year if he can't act as a ninja!"

The Godaime Hokage's eyes flared as she stood and slammed her palm on the desk. "Sasuke Uchiha left this village and became a rogue ninja who turned his back on his village and ultimately schemed to attack the Leaf, he is lucky to not only be allowed back into the village but be allowed to live. So help me Naruto, if you interrupt again I will have you forcibly removed, if necessary, from this meeting. Am. I. Clear?" She spat out the last three words. After she was sure Naruto would keep his mouth firmly shut, she sat back down her eyes once more moving to stare him down. His black eyes met hers without blinking, ignoring Naruto's outburst. After a few moments of each trying to stare the other down, the Hokage continued.

"In addition, you will have Anbu guards on you at all times and while you are under probation you are required to wear this."

For the first time during the whole meeting Sasuke blinked, in her hands was his old headband in all of its glory with the scratch through it and the cloth looking remarkably dirty. He could feel Naruto bristle behind him at the third condition, but for once the shinobi held his stupid tongue. Sasuke merely held out his hand and wrapped his fingers around the metal once the Hokage dropped the headband in his hands.

"If, after the year is up, the village council and myself feel you have made improvements to…your character flaws which concern us and if you have followed these conditions, your case will be revisited and we will reconsider the demands being place on you."

Sasuke merely nodded, tied the forehead protector in place, turned and left, leaving Naruto and the Hokage to stare in silence as he left.

Sasuke opened his black eyes again, still staring at his reflection in the mirror. The headband was a symbol, a symbol that he was not yet to be trusted. The Uchiha was positive that if it was not for the Hokage's soft spot for Naruto he would have been killed before he could even set foot into the village. He grit his teeth at the thought, his life depending on Naruto. Him, the one who killed Orochimaru, who killed his own brother for revenge, and who, in his opinion, could have brought down the entire Leaf. He could do all those things, and yet here, his life depended on Naruto. Grunting he turned from the mirror and surveyed his home. He owned the entire Uchiha compound now, but he wanted none of it. It was in ruins; blood from that night still stained the floors and walls along with the destruction from kunai and other weapons. It was also, however, the ideal location because of its isolation from the rest of the village. He did not want to see the others; he did not want their acceptances or their rejection. The thought of either of those occurrences made him grit his teeth again.

Yes, here was better than somewhere else, being here meant that only the ones who actively sought him out interact with him. Meaning only _those two_. Sasuke frowned as conflicting emotions began swirling inside him again. Hate for bringing them back, hate for their happiness, hate for not letting him go. If it had just been the hate he could have handled the emotions easily. He was familiar with hate; he and hate went way back. Yet, above all the hate which swirled in his gut sat one presiding emotion. One he could not understand why it was there at all. It had no place within him; he saw no reason for its existence. Yet there it was, either oblivious or indifferent to his will. Relief. He was, when push came to shove, relieved that they finally brought him back and it was this relief which kept him from leaving again.

The Uchiha walked to the adjoining room grabbing a cushion and setting it on the floor. He then lowered himself to a sitting position leaning his back against the wall and stared at the shadows which danced on the wall across from him as a result of the candles which filled his home. Could he even sleep in this place? He already had nightmares relating to his parents and his brother. What on earth would staying in this place do to his psyche? He scoffed as he remembered Tsunade's words. If he improved his character flaws. Ha. That was hardly likely even if he wasn't living in a torture scene from his past. What? Did she honestly think he would just become a happy go lucky person now that he was back in the village? His face darkened when he realized that she probably did not expect that at all. In fact she was probably betting on his failure. His hands clenched into fists and his eyes turned red as he began to pick out where the Anbu were with his sharingan. Instead of the Anbu, he found Naruto shoving his front door open like he owned the place or something and giving him a big toothy smile.

"Yo! Sasuke!"

Sasuke flinched, his eyes going back to black before the blonde could notice his eyes and gave a grunt of annoyance at the intrusion. Day one and he was already being annoyed by Naruto and yet the relief stayed. In fact, the feeling grew stronger as if Naruto himself was the cause behind the troublesome emotion.

"Sasuke.." Naruto began standing in front of the sitting Uchiha his hands on his hips as he surveyed Sasuke's home, "We need to fix this place up. There's no way you can sleep here with all this blood and stuff. I'm getting some rags."

Without another word Uzumaki was gone, in another room of Sasuke's home, digging through his belongings for some rags. Black eyes stared at the door Naruto has left through and grit his teeth. The Godaime Hokage would not purposefully set him up to fail, not as long as Naruto was supporting him. Relief and then annoyance flashed through his eyes as he stood and grabbed the buckets and rags Naruto was still looking for. By the time Naruto came back to actually _ask_ Sasuke where the cleaning supplies were, Sasuke was already on his hands and knees scrubbing away at the blood stained floor. The blonde laughed sheepishly with his big stupid grin and rubbed the back of his head.

"You could have told me you already had the stuff. Instead of making me look like an ass." Naruto muttered before grabbing a rag and setting to work on a different blood stain. "I will help you get this room clean tonight so you at least have a room you can sleep in. Tomorrow Sakura and I will both come over to clean the rest of the house!"

Sasuke grunted in response as he scrubbed the floor, unwilling to meet the blue eyed gaze of the shinobi next to him. Naruto's next question made him frown, "Are you going to fix the whole compound or just this house?"

"What's it matter to you?" Sasuke snapped. Truthfully he wanted it all back to his original glory. His clan had been a proud one and should not be remembered be a bunch of ruined houses. At the same time he was unsure of his ability to fix the entire compound on his own, sure maybe his family's old house, but the whole compound? By himself that would take several years and he did not exactly have the village begging to help fix up his home, nor did he want their help. It was the village's fault the compound was in the condition that it was in. It was the village's oppression which led to the uprising of the Uchiha and the destruction of his clan and it was the village's fault for not maintaining the compound after they made Itachi kill all of its inhabitants.

"If you want to fix up the whole compound, we will need more supplies. I just want to make sure I bring enough." Naruto shrugged looking like he was suppressing the urge to yell at Sasuke. Sasuke frowned as his eyes stared at Naruto while they both scrubbed the floors. Was he actively trying not to yell at him? Naruto always yelled at him, even when Sasuke wanted to kill him, Naruto yelled at the Uchiha. Yet here he was, obviously annoyed at how Sasuke was treating him, and Naruto was not trying to lecture him. Did he think him so weak he could not withstand a little lecture? Did Naruto honestly believe that Sasuke was so distraught over the Hokage's decision that one little lecture would push him over the edge.

Anger coursing through his veins, Sasuke threw his rag down and lunged at Naruto pinning him to the ground. Out the corner of his eyes he saw the Anbu shift, but his focus was on Naruto. "If you having something to say, then just say it!" He hollered. Blue eyes stared back up at him in wide astonishment as if they were confused as to why Sasuke was suddenly on top of him and screaming. After a couple of seconds Naruto flashed him a small stupid grin and rubbed his head again. "I'm just glad you're back, Sasuke, that's all… I missed you. We missed you. Sakura and I…Really everyone did. Though they did not think you would ever come back for a while there. But we are all just really glad you are back. You're…You're like a brother to me Sasuke."

Anger was replaced with a stunned silence as Sasuke stared down into blue eyes his fist poised above his head ready to start pounding. Instead Sasuke's fists fell meekly to his sides and he rolled off of Naruto breaking eye contact and lowering his gaze to the floor. The relief was back, this time stronger. It filled him to the point that the hate was either gone or hidden. He shook with the emotions that the shinobi in front of him was causing him and wanted to punch the blonde simply for making him feel uncomfortable. What was he supposed to do with all of this? It had been years since he had felt anything but hate, and now all of a sudden he could not find a shred of the old emotion. At least for the moment.

Sasuke closed his eyes and merely nodded. What else could he do? Normally he probably would have blown Naruto off, but the relief that had filled his very being would not let him simply ignore this display of loyalty. However, he also couldn't smile and thank the shinobi. Naruto gave him another one of his gigantic stupid grins and then cast his blues eyes around the room and gave a nod of satisfaction. The room had been cleared of the old blood and was now deemed suitable for the Uchiha to sleep in. Sasuke nodded when Naruto said goodbye and that he would be back the next morning. Black eyes watched the shinobi leave before taking his seat back on the cushion with his back against the wall.

Exhaustion spread over him as he contemplated his return to the village and the emotions which had been circulating through him. Maybe change was actually possible. Sasuke flinched at the idea, happiness only sounded nice in theory. In order for him to obtain such a thing he would have to let go of the thoughts and experiences which had thus far shaped his very being. Happiness was not obtainable for him unless he fundamentally changed who he was and what his purpose in life was. Sasuke closed his eyes, resigned to the fact that his days would be spent inside the walls of the Uchiha compound surrounded by his past. The compound held unwanted memories, but outside these walls resided a fearful truth he wasn't capable of acknowledging.

Chapter 2 to follow- Old Habits Die Hard


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, since people were taking interest in the story I figured I would go ahead and give a little more information regarding the story and how I write. If you don't care for such things please feel free to skip to the story, there's nothing too important here. First the story will take place over a year. Originally I had planned on doing a chapter for each month and then an epilogue, but I am already questioning that decision…so there may be more than 13 chapters. Each chapter will be about 2000 words long, not including any notes I make, for those of you who care about such things. Now the next question would be, "How long will it take you to finish the story?" That depends completely on you. Yes you, the reader. Once I start a story I frequently need a lot of motivation to keep writing, so how much motivation I get relates to how fast I write. I wrote the last chapter in two hours; having decided to write it instead of nap because I was super excited. So if you all review and favorite and etc. it will get me excited and I could have this story finished in a month. (Okay maybe not a month; I am getting married this month so even with all the reviews in the world I couldn't finish the story this month.) In any case, please please please review. Tell me what you think, what confused you, how I could do better, what you want to happen, what your favorite color is ;) Finally, each chapter will rotate between being in Sasuke's, Naruto's, or Sakura's point of view. I may decide in later chapters to split the POV in the middle of a chapter, but right now one chapter equals one POV. Whew, that's a lot. Now onto the story!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any affiliated characters.

Chapter 2: Old Habits Die Hard

The next morning Naruto Uzumaki was jolted awake by a loud banging on his front door. "Hnn?"

"Naruto! Naruto!"

Adrenaline raced through his veins as he sprung to life at the sound of Sakura-chan's voice. She didn't even sound that angry! Maybe she was here for them to go on a date! Naruto beamed rushing to the door without even bothering to change out of his pajamas. "Sakura-chan!" he yelled opening the door, "give me just a minute and I can get dressed for our da-" Naruto gulped down the last syllable when he saw Sakura's face. She didn't look too pleased. Why would she look angry if they were going on a date? Oh wait! Today they were helping Sasuke fix the Uchiha compound. That's right! He had told Sakura after leaving Sasuke's last night to meet him at his place in the morning. He had even told her that he would take care of all of the supplies…oh shit.

Naruto didn't have time to avoid the punch that landed on his head sending him flying backwards into the wall of his small, dirty apartment.

"Baka!" she shouted placing her hands on her hips while her green eyes bore into him, "This was your idea! How could you forget?!"

"Sakura-chan" Naruto moaned rubbing his head "You don't have to be so mean. I will get the stuff. I'll get the stuff."

Sakura continued to glare at him, hands on her hips. He needed to get the supplies together, and fast before Sakura tried to hit him again. But Sasuke wanted the whole compound fixed, how could he carry everything at once? His shadow clones! That would fix everything! He could send his shadow clones out for supplies while he got dressed and went with Sakura over to Sasuke's! He began to weave the hand signs, grinning at his genius. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" Large puffs of smoke filled the apartment as about twenty Naruto's appeared. In unison they all shoved their fist into the air with a declaration of, "Let's go!" and dispersed out the front door and the windows to go gather the supplies leaving the real Naruto and Sakura alone in the apartment once more.

"See Sakura-chan? They will meet us at Sasuke's and it will be like we weren't late at all!" Triumphantly he grinned. Man, he was so smart. He didn't get why everyone was always calling him stupid. His grin grew bigger when Sakura's eyes softened and she let her hands fall to her sides, already looking less angry. "Mmhm" she nodded in agreement causing Naruto to want to dance in excitement, "lets hurry, we don't want your shadow clones to beat us." Naruto nodded in agreement rushing back into his bedroom to pull on a pair of warm pants and a long sleeved black and orange shirt. He paused briefly staring at the snow outside before grabbing a jacket as well, even if he wasn't sure he would need it Sakura-chan would hit him if he didn't grab one. Sakura-chan smiled at him as he raced out the door closing the door to the apartment behind them.

Bright blue eyes excitedly took in the scene around him as he walked, the village was covered in snow making it look like a winter wonderland. It must have snowed after he got home last night. He could already hear squeals of laughter as a group of children started a snowball fight. Maybe they could be a little late and he could go show those kids how to _really_ throw a snowball. At that precise moment Sakura thumped him on the head again, not as hard as last time, but like she knew he had been thinking of running off and joining the children.

"Don't even think about it Naruto, we have to help Sasuke!" she chided him gently, making eye contact before moving her gaze forward. Naruto nodded in agreement, although he really didn't see what a few hours would hurt. It would take them days to fully fix the compound. The two shinobi fell into a steady rhythm as they walked, both watching as the children played in the snow.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked softly, pausing for a moment. Naruto stopped and turned to face the girl, frowning in concern. "Did Sasuke actually ask for us to come help…I mean does he actually want us there?"

"Aw, Sakura-chan. You know how he is," at this Naruto mockingly lowered his voice in an attempt to sound like Sasuke, "I don't need anybodies help. I am fully capable on my own. Blah blah blah. He would never admit he needs us, but he does. I told him we were glad he was back last night. He just kinda stared at me. Heh" He brought his hand up to rub the back of his head and grinned sheepishly.

"Really?" Sakura said starting to walk toward Sasuke's again.

"Yeah, I left soon after but he was yelling at me 'n stuff 'n then I said everyone missed him and he got all quiet. Anyways, I told him we would be here and he didn't say no…so I guess for Sasuke that's like an open invitation." He glanced over at Sakura to see her smile and nod in agreement. They were almost to the compound now, they had already passed their first Anbu guard and his shadow clones were starting to catch up to the two and fall in behind them.

"Do you think he will ever be able to be happy?"

Naruto blinked at Sakura's question, having never really considered the thought that someone simply couldn't be happy, but then again…his face darkened as he remember his own lonely past. "As long as we don't let him feel alone, he will be happy."

Sakura grinned, comforted by Naruto's words. At that moment they arrived at Sasuke's house, shadow clones in tow all carrying various tools, paints, wood and other necessary supplies. Naruto threw the door open and sauntered into the room. "Oy! Sasuke! Sakura-chan and I are here!" he bellowed. He heard running water in the kitchen so he began to head in that direction leaving Sakura standing in the door way with her hand raised as if she intended to knock on something…that was odd, but there was no time to worry about that now Sasuke was filling a bucket with warm soapy water in the kitchen. Sasuke looked up at Naruto when he entered, turned off the water, grabbed the bucket, and then turned to go start cleaning the next room. "Let's go dobe."

It took them three long weeks to fully clean, repair, and paint the Uchiha complex. The three worked tirelessly everyday and usually in silence. Naruto and Sakura would talk some, but even their conversation felt unnatural in combination with the Uchiha's silence. So in the end, even Naruto and Sakura fell into a rhythm of silence. Though each evening when Naruto walked Sakura home it seemed like he was about to explode he talked so much as if to make up for the hours he had spent silent. His body unable to handle the pressure of not talking for so long. Now that the three of them were finished Naruto hoped actual conversation could resume and they wouldn't have to just sit with Sasuke brooding all of the time. He was considering telling Sasuke it was time for him to start talking when his stomach growled. Loudly. He fell down in the snow writhing on the ground.

"Ugh! I've been working so hard today I forgot how hungry I was!" he wailed much to the amusement of Sakura.

"Calm down we will get you…" Sakura trailed off as Sasuke started walking away from them out of the compound and into the village. Naruto stopped moaning on the ground when Sakura stopped talking and sat up on an elbow, his jaw dropping to the ground as he watched Sasuke walk toward the village. He hadn't left the compound in weeks! And now here he was, walking away like they didn't exist at all. Naruto turned red, anger pulsing through him.

"Hey!" he shouted at his friend, "What do you think you're doing?! Sakura and I spend THREE WEEKS to help fix your home and now that we are done you just turn around and try to leave?!" Panting Naruto closed the distance between him and Sasuke and grabbed the other's shoulder spinning him around so that the two were now face to face.

"What? I thought you wanted food" Sasuke smirked before shrugging out of Naruto's grasp and walking toward Ichiraku. Wide eyed Naruto stared after his friend. After a moment his shook his head a wide grin spreading across his features. "Yeah!" he shouted excitedly, "Come on Sakura-chan! Let's go!"

Sakura nodded picking up the pace so she could catch up to her two teammates. With both Sakura and Sasuke beside him Naruto let out a loud laugh. "It's just like old times" he laughed, Sakura nodding in agreement, "all of us together and happy."

Sasuke hmped at Naruto's words, "I'm just paying for the food to repay you for the supplies, you eat like a cow so it should cost about the same. Don't get any dumb ideas, baka."

Naruto frowned back at the shinobi's words, but decided to shrug it off. Even if Sasuke was being an asshole he was leaving the compound to buy them food. It was probably the closest thing to a thank you he could expect. Still, there was no reason to be a jerk about it…At least Sasuke wasn't being rude to Sakura, so far he had only directed anything mean to Naruto. If he had upset Sakura it would have majorly pissed him off. When they arrived at Ichiraku's, Naruto rubbed his hands together grabbing a seat. "Hey old man! Three bowls please!" The owner of the delicious noodles looked up to greet Naruto, but faltered when he saw the Uchiha right next to him. Before he could try to recover Sasuke threw some money on the counter and sulked away back to the compound.

"Hey! Sasuke!" Naruto yelled stood up to go after him, but Sakura grabbed his arms and pulled him back to his seat shaking her head.

"Naruto!" she said sharply in a whisper, "Didn't you notice how everyone was staring at him when he walked here? The rest of the village hasn't accepted him yet, and he knows it."

Naruto gripped the counter, his knuckles turning white. Flashes of the village turning their back on him in his child hood pouring through his mind. Sasuke must feel the exact same, except Sasuke knew why the village was uneasy around him. Sasuke knew that he gave the village reasons to be uneasy. Even if Naruto knew Sasuke had changed, the village didn't and he couldn't necessarily blame everyone else for being hesitant. Sasuke had plotted to destroy the Leaf after all. "He has to know he's not alone." He muttered before running off after his friend leaving Sakura alone with the food.

"Sasuke! Sasuke!" Naruto panted when he caught up to the Uchiha at the compound. "You can't let them get to you!" He shouted after he had caught his breath staring at Sasuke's back while he spoke. "They are just nervous, you just have to show them that you're not like that anymore and they will come around!"

Sasuke scoffed and turned to stare back at Naruto, blue eyes meeting black. "Why are you so sure I've changed?"

"Wh-what are you talking about? Why else would you come back to the Leaf?" Naruto's voice dropped as he made eye contact with Sasuke.

"I don't give a damn about the Leaf." Sasuke said ignoring Naruto's question. He then turned and went back into his home, leaving Naruto standing outside in the snow, alone.

"Then why?" Naruto whispered blue eyes filled with worry as he watched his friend try and put more distance between the two.

Chapter to follow- Isn't it Ironic?

_A big thanks to all of you who reviewed/favorited/followed my story. You made me want to get this chapter out super-fast!_


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you all SO MUCH for the reviews, favorites, and follows. I would have updated a lot sooner, but this past week has been crazy busy with my wedding. (8 days away) I do want to bring up one particular review that was done by a guest who asked questions, but then I couldn't answer. In any case this chapter and then the next are addressing many of the points you brought up. I wanted to give the reader two full chapters of emo Sasuke before I started slowly changing him to make the shift seem as natural as possible. I'm going to have a small bonus chapter which will probably be uploaded tomorrow and then that will be it until after my wedding. But don't let that stop you from reviewing your little hearts out! On a side note, writing as Sakura is strenuous.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any affiliated characters.

Chapter 3: Isn't it Ironic?

Sakura paused outside the Uchiha compound, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear while she bit her lip. It had been a little over a month since Sasuke had come back to the Leaf, and only a handful of days since they had finished fixing the compound. Since that time, she had come over every day during her lunch break from the hospital while Naruto tended to come in the evening. Yet, every time she still hesitated outside his door. The Anbu guards must have thought she was dull in the head or something. It wasn't like her visits with Sasuke were unpleasant; on the contrary she thought they went quite well. At least when she compared her visits with Naruto's. Sasuke seemed to talk with her more, not just ignore her and give her short one word answers. Despite Sasuke's willingness to actually interact and be open with her, Sakura always felt like an outsider looking in. Even now, years later, having proved herself time and time again, she was still living in their shadows. With a sigh she raised her hand and knocked on the newly painted door, Sasuke opening the door seconds after she had finished knocking.

Had he been waiting for her? Her heart fluttered momentarily before she quickly pushed the feeling away. She came at the same time every day and he probably had sensed her standing outside his door like a fool.

"Hey Sasuke-kun," Sakura smiled softly at him and his slight nod of greeting before she lightly stepped past him and made her way to the kitchen. She hummed quietly to herself as she began to unpack her lunch, Sasuke moving past her to get out the bowls and chopsticks. As she was portioning the noodles into the bowls she noticed an official looking piece of parchment sitting on the counter.

"What's that?" she asked nodding to the paper while she filled his bowl with noodles.

"I have to contribute to society."

Sakura paused for a moment, contribute to society? So that meant…a job. Sasuke had to get a job. Sasuke had to get a job that had nothing to do with being a ninja. Under any other situation Sakura probably would have laughed, or at least giggled. But this was Sasuke and even if he didn't look it, he was probably incredibly stressed by the fact that he would have to do some mundane job for at least 11 months; especially when he didn't even need the money. Sasuke was the sole heir to the Uchiha clan, so all financial resources from the Uchiha now belonged to him. No, Sasuke didn't need the money, but Lady Tsunade was making him contribute to society. In all honesty it didn't surprise Sakura, after all she wouldn't trust Sasuke to sit around for a year doing nothing, even the sanest of people would go crazy under those circumstances, and Sasuke wasn't winning any sanity awards any time soon. However, even if she did understand the Hokage's reasoning, she still felt for Sasuke. This would be worse than when they had to find and return lost pets.

"Any ideas?" she asked, handing him his bowl. She then walked past him and took a seat at the low table waiting for him to join her.

"Itadakimasu" she practically sang before beginning to eat while she waited for his answer and his echoed "Itadakimasu" as he followed suit.

"Something without people." Was the eventual reply between bites of noodles.

Sakura nodded thoughtfully as she started trying to think of jobs that wouldn't drive Sasuke more crazy than just sitting home alone. "I bet Naruto would love it if you worked at the ramen stand" she giggled "Ohh! Or you could be a messenger and run around the Leaf telling husbands they would be late for dinner and children it was time to come home." Sakura had to put her chopsticks down while she laughed, Sasuke did not seem amused by her antics, but honestly he was never amused so what did that matter.

"I was thinking the library"

Sakura paused in her laughing and sat up to genuinely consider the option. "You would deal more with the elderly and the young…" she mused twirling her chopsticks in-between her fingers.

"People who won't necessarily know me"

Sakura nodded, but her eyes drifted to the headband which marked him as a traitor, Sasuke followed her gaze but shook his head slightly.

"It's not the same, for them I would just be a rumor, a shadow. But to do something that involved our age group…" he trailed off before finishing his food.

Sakura nodded and let her eyes fall back down to her bowl, it was still mostly full but she had suddenly lost her appetite. "Sasuke…" she trailed off, biting her lip as she willed herself to have the courage to finish her sentence, "I am really glad you're back, and I…" meeting his gaze had been a mistake, suddenly all of her courage rushed out of her like air from a balloon and she was left feeling deflated and useless. Sasuke didn't respond to her mini confession. Instead he gathered up their bowl and began to clean them, as if the conversation had never happened and they had just sat in silence the entire time.

"I'm going to go by the library to see if I can get the job. I will walk you back to the hospital, since it's on the way."

Sakura smiled and nodded, although she began to chew her bottom lip again. Sasuke hadn't left the compound since the time they had all gone to get ramen together. That had been such a disaster, but he couldn't live his whole life inside the compound.

"How much do you think you're going to work?"

Sasuke shrugged as he grabbed Sakura's coat and held it out for her before shrugging his own jacket on. "I might as well work as much as possible." Sakura nodded before wrapping her scarf around her neck and stepping into the blisteringly cold wind. She hated January, the rest of the winter months were fine. In fact she loved them; she loved the snow and the dreary sky. But January's winds felt like they ripped right through her soul and that they could viciously tear apart everything she treasured in her life. Everything she had worked so hard for. Shoving her hands in her pockets she waited for Sasuke to lock his door before they began walking toward the hospital. They didn't say much as they walked, honestly the wind was so brutal it was hard to say anything at all. But when they got to the hospital, before she could turn and leave, Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from leaving. "I will see you tomorrow then." His hand fell, and then he turned and he was gone. Leaving her alone, but for once she didn't feel that way. Sakura sighed and closed her eyes briefly, tomorrow, she thought before turning and running into the warm hospital. Maybe Naruto was right, maybe all Sasuke needed was to know that he wasn't alone. That they were there for him and that they wouldn't let him go, not again.

A couple of days later Sakura found herself outside of Naruto's apartment in almost the same predicament. The wind was howling around her and she was standing poised to knock, but hesitating. At least there weren't any Anbu guards watching her this time. Once she knocked it took Naruto a little longer to answer the door and when he did it was clear that he had still been asleep.

"Sakura-chan?" he murmured rubbing his eyes, "Is everything ok?"

Sakura nodded before sliding into his apartment and out of the cold, letting him close the door behind her. "I'm sorry I'm here so early, I just wanted to talk to you before my shift at the hospital started."

Naruto nodded sleepily trudging to the kitchen to make them some coffee. "So what's up?"

Sakura sighed as she followed Naruto into the kitchen, "I just…We haven't talked much, all of our free time has been with Sasuke, so I wanted to hear how you were doing….what you thought of all of this."

Sakura watched as Naruto paused at his words and scrunched up his face in thought, she moved past him to finish making the coffee while he thought. She wasn't trying to rush him, but the coffee sounded good and he had the habit of losing himself inside his own head.

"I wish we knew why he had come back, you know?" Sakura nodded, not bothering to talk because she knew he wasn't done. "And I'm glad he talks to you, because he doesn't really speak to me. It's kinda like he still won't acknowledge me as an equal."

Sakura stopped what she was doing and went to stand in front of Naruto, "I feel the opposite is true, Naruto" her voice was soft, green eyes intense as they met his. "I think because he respects you so much he doesn't try and put up an act for you and is just wholly himself while with me…" Sakura drifted off briefly but shook her head and continued, "with me it's an act. He is trying to be pleasant, because he knows I care."

She watched as Naruto scratched his head and scrambled for words, "I mean, of course he respects you Sakura!"

Before he could continue Sakura shook her head silencing him, "I'm not saying he doesn't…what I mean is you two share a bond, a bond he doesn't have with anyone else, and because of that bond he feels, he doesn't have to hide how he is really feeling. With you, and only you, he can actually be himself."

Naruto stared at her for a while, confused while her words settled in his brain. She could see his thoughts racing while he tried to determine if her words were true. She smiled and put her hand on her cheek. "I'm not upset Naruto, I just wanted you to know. He needs you, even if he won't say it." Sakura poured herself a cup of coffee in a to-go cup and left before Naruto could say anything else. She was late, and he needed time to understand what she was trying to say. Besides if she was being honest with herself, it did hurt. She loved Sasuke. And Sasuke knew that and was trying to be nice, which was incredible, and yet Sakura wished with all her heart she was in Naruto's place, because even if he wasn't ever polite to Naruto, Naruto had the real Sasuke. Which was something Sakura wasn't sure she had ever had or would ever have.

That night Sakura went and visited Sasuke, Kiba had demanded Naruto come out with him so Sakura decided she would visit Sasuke in his place. Besides, she was hoping that with a longer visit she would have enough courage to actually bring up the topic she had been trying to bring up for the last couple of days. She didn't take as long to knock this time, but it took Sasuke slightly longer to answer the door. Guess Naruto didn't knock.

"Sakura" he said when he opened the door to let her in.

She smiled and kicked off her shoes, "Thanks, Kiba insisted Naruto spent some time with him, so I figured I would come and keep you company." Sasuke nodded and led her into a room with a couple of cushions on the floor and a small fire burning in the fire place. Sakura squealed slightly at the sight of the fire. "Oh! This is the perfect night for a fire! I used to love curling up by the fire and reading with a hot cup of tea."

"I can make us some tea" Sasuke said, moving toward the kitchen, Sakura nodded while she discarded her coat, scarf, and gloves and took a place by the fire basking in the warmth and the glow. She would need to get a place with a fireplace, they were so peaceful. No wonder Sasuke liked it. She settled into the cushion and waited for Sasuke to come back with their tea. Once they were both settled they fell into a comfortable silence; watching the fire and sipping at the tea.

"Sasuke…" Sakura started softly, barely above a whisper, "Do you think you'll ever love me?"

Silence ensued as Sakura sank lower into the ground, as if she could sink through the floor and disappear, she hadn't wanted to risk ruining this, but she had to know. She couldn't keep waiting for someone who was never going to be interested. It was time, she had spent over ten years of her life loving him, and she probably would never stop. But she needed to know if they could ever have a future together, because if not she needed to find that future with someone else, no matter how much the truth might hurt.

"Sakura…I'm not capable of love."

Sakura's eyes flashed as she sat straight up and glared at Sasuke, eyes burning with intensity. Of all of the answers he could give her that one was just utter shit. "Sasuke Uchiha, that is quite possibly the stupidest thing you've ever said."

He jerked his head up angrily at her, but she continued on, "First, everyone is capable of love. Second, everything you have done has been for love. Yes, yes, yes. You wanted revenge, why? Because you loved your family and you couldn't stand to see what Itachi had done to them. Then you wanted to destroy the Leaf. Why? Because you had been tricked into killing your brother who loved you as much as you loved him."

Silence ensued once more as Sakura came down from her rant, wide eyed when she realized she had just yelled at Sasuke. Sasuke. What had she been thinking? He wasn't Naruto, this was Sasuke, she couldn't just go around telling him how to live his life. Sakura frowned and shook her head, no, she was right. Naruto would have done the same thing, although he probably would have talked longer. She turned her eyes to watch Sasuke and was shocked to see emotion spilling across his face. Confusion, regret, and sadness all played across his features, but there was no anger. Sakura didn't want to break the silence, he was obviously serious thinking about what she said and it was enough. She couldn't get her answer until he came to terms with his emotions anyways. "I should go…I will see you tomorrow Sasuke." With that she stood, pausing briefly to place a comforting hand on his shoulder before gathering her things and walking back out into the biting cold, however, much to her surprise the wind had died down to a small breeze that was almost pleasant.

Chapter to follow- Bonus Chapter: Somewhere I Belong


	4. Bonus Chapter

**Update 2: So apparently this is still copyright, so I am just deleting all of the song lyrics, it's Linkin Park Somewhere I Belong and hopefully this is the last I will have to deal with this chapter. I am really just wanting to delete it at this point. **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto and Linkin Park owns the song Somewhere I Belong

Bonus Chapter: Somewhere I Belong

Sasuke watched as storm clouds began to roll in over the village, blanketing the area in shadows. Blue flashes of light briefly outline the oncoming rain before vanishing and sending the world into darkness again. The Uchiha stood in a small wooded area within his compound, the same area where he had watched Itachi train for countless hours. He waited as the storm drew closer, black eyes switching to red when the next bolt of lightning flashed dangerously close to him. He was aware of the danger of training in this particular area during this big a storm, but none of that mattered right now. Sakura's words still rung in his ears, and no amount of logic or anger and been able to dampen the truth to her words.

Water quickly drenched him pouring down onto the earth as if the clouds were trying to drown him. He found the weather oddly fitting, dark and dangerous and trying to kill him. Another flash of light revealed him springing into action as he flew into the air twisting as he threw his kunai. Hand signs were woven and the chidori burned bright over his arm before his feet found a solid surface. He sprung from the tree branch still trying to block Sakura's voice.

"Everyone is capable of love"

She was so stupid, so idealistic. She had no idea what he was capable of; he had tried to kill her. Tried to kill Naruto. He let out a scream as he demolished several trees in the area. He was left panting in the middle the storm still raging around him. With his sharingan he could pick out the Anbu; watching him silently from a safe distance. More signs were weaved as he sprung into motion, fire welling up in his belly.

Fire poured from his mouth, giving light to the darkness as he set the wilderness on fire. The rain and fire began an intense battle, his fire infused with his chakra sought to grow and rage filling the area with its heat and intensity. The rain was unrelenting; refusing to lose to the angered youth below. The sky shook as thunder roared across the earth, blue streaks of lightning crackled across the sky immediately after. One connected with the earth and added to Sasuke's blaze which only seemed to make the rain pour harder.

"Everything you have done has been for love"

Sasuke let out a scream as he began flinging his limbs into the surrounding trees, uncaring of the fire that threatened to encroach on his skin. Fists quickly began to break the bark of the tree he was abusing so he turned his attention to a large stone further away in the clearing.

Another scream tore through the clearing as the Uchiha slammed his fist against the face of the rock, watching as a crack began to splinter across the stone. Itachi's face filled his vision, stalling him for the moment. Despite all of the training, all of the struggle, all of the pain, he still felt like he was failing. Red eyes closed as he rested his forehead on what was left of the rock. Nothing was what it was supposed to be and it was all his fault. He had spent years trying to avenge his family by killing the one person who had loved him most. He had killed Itachi. The fire still roared around him, the rain unable to put out the flames and beat back the result of his anger. The Uchiha opened his eyes, his sharingan twisting and turning, reflecting back the light of the flames and lightning. Another boom of thunder shook the trees and he was off again, kunai flying through the air embedding themselves in his desired target. This would not be where it ended

Sasuke had never been one to quit, he had come back to this village and damnit he was better than this. Sasuke Uchiha did not pout. He did not wallow. He did what he thought had to be done. He had been wrong in the past, but that didn't mean he should give up. He had come back for him…for them. He could do this. He was the last Uchiha. He could do whatever the fuck he wanted. Even Saukra had seen his ability. Sakura who couldn't do anything. He was pulled from his thoughts when an Anbu guard stepped in front of him suddenly. Startled Sasuke fell back into the mud. Where had he come from?

"You're fire is going to spread to the village, deal with it."

Just as quickly the guard was gone, leaving Sasuke with the realization that he wasn't all powerful.

Sasuke let his chakra drain from the flames so that the rain could finally put out the offensive fire. He did not move for a while, mud, rain, and smoke mixing with his skin and clothes. The storm continued to rage around him, but now he was encased in darkness; the rain winning the war and extinguishing the fire and his source of light. He allowed for his head to fall back splattering in the mud. How could everything have gone so wrong? Could he trust anything he knew? He had spent his life trying to accomplish something built on a lie.

The mud cooled his burning skin and covered his hair, but he could still feel his heart pounding erratically inside his chest. What did he actually know? Was there even anyone he could trust? Was it even possible for him to change without these things? Red eyes opened and stared definitely up at the rain. How did Naruto do it? Everyone had hated him, scorned him. He had been completely alone… Sasuke fisted the earth, mud squeezing between his fingers. That usuratonkachi would not beat him. He was better than the blonde.

If fucking Naruto could be happy then so could he. Sasuke let out a sigh, eyes closing once more. Naruto was a better person then Sasuke had ever been. Even if he hated to admit it, Sasuke couldn't do this. Not alone.

The rain slowed to a rhythmic pitter patter, his breathing slowing to match the pace of the rain. Fuck them all. He would show them. He wasn't something to be pitied. If he couldn't face his past, he wouldn't have come back here. Obviously he had come back, of his own free will. His brother had kept him alive and Naruto and Sakura had never given up on him. Even if he didn't deserve it. He would take it, because he could. Because it was what Sasuke wanted. More importantly, it was what _he_ would want.

Sasuke remained in the mud and rain until the sun began to rise, shedding light on the destruction he had caused last night. Sasuke Uchiha would not be beaten, and if that meant dealing with something like his past and his emotions then so be it. His eyes were once more their familiar black, and while exhausted, they were also firm with resolve. However, before he could clean himself up and make his way back to his home a voice sounded a few feet away from him, causing Sasuke to sit up and stare.

"Sasuke?"

_Make sure to review! Thanks for reading  
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Chapter to Follow- Choices


	5. Chapter 4

To all you SasuNaru lovers out there, you're welcome. In any case, the story needs more reviews. It's so hungry, it doesn't think it can go on without more reviews. I also need more input on the bonus chapter. A special thanks to KH freak 813 for all of her reviews and Century'sRain for the chapter 3 review. I was really concerned with the Sakura portion and you made me feel better. :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any affiliated characters.

Chapter 4: Choices

"Sasuke?"

Black eyes darted to meet the owner of the familiar voice, mud covered hands hastily trying to brush away any debris and smoke which had settled on his face. The dark haired ninja had hoped for privacy. Well as much privacy as one could get with ten Anbu guards following his every movement. Still, of all of the people to find him like this, the ninja standing before him was the last one he would want here.

"Naruto." Sasuke said shortly. He stood and moved past the blonde ignoring his confused expression. Maybe he could get inside and start showering before Naruto could pull himself out of his confusion. If Sasuke made it to the shower, Naruto couldn't bother him in there. He would have to wait until Sasuke finished and then maybe he would get distracted and forget whatever rant Naruto had for him this time. Unfortunately, luck had never been on Sasuke's side.

"Ehh?! Sasuke what happened? Why are you covered in mud? Is that smoke? Was there a fire? Why is everything destroyed?"

Sasuke closed his eyes, ignoring the blonde as he continued toward his home and the safety the shower offered him. If it had just been Sakura who had found him she would have just stared at him. Green eyes filled with worry, but she wouldn't have talked! More importantly she wouldn't have tried to make him talk. She would have made him some tea and then left. Instead, the dobe showed up, running his mouth like it was any of his business why Sasuke was covered in mud, leaves, smoke and the gods only knew what else. Like it was Naruto's personal responsibility to discover what happened to the landscape, as if he was some private detective sent to solve all of the problems in the Uchiha's life. Sasuke was so consumed by his own internal rant he didn't notice Naruto following him, nor did he hear the blonde countless stream of questions. Naruto, however, was apparently aware of Sasuke's complete indifference toward the blonde, because he roughly grabbed the back of Sasuke's shirt and twisted him around so that the two were now facing each other.

Sasuke grimaced when he was forced to make eye contact with the blonde. When he was forced to notice the worry and concern that filled his comrades blue eyes. Sasuke refused to speak when Naruto forced him to acknowledge him presence; instead he began a mental countdown. Three…Two..One, there it was. On cue, the concern and worry which were dominate in Naruto's eyes was replaced with a bubbling anger and a fist came swinging out from the side and planted itself firmly on Sasuke's cheek. Mud, blood, and spit rolled out of Sasuke's mouth colliding with the ground in a satisfying splat.

"Why can't you acknowledge those who care about you?!" Naruto yelled beginning his rant, "It's not like we are asking for much. I'm sure anyone would want to know why you were laying out here looking like shit with everything around you completely destroyed. It's not a sign of weakness to have others want to make sure you didn't go crazy and try and kill yourself or something."

"Is that what you think Naruto?" Sasuke's voice broke in sharply, venom dripping with every word, "You think I tried to kill myself last night?"

Naruto, for his part, didn't look shocked or worried by Sasuke's anger, instead he plowed on, "I think I've been asking you to tell me what happened and you're a stubborn bastard who thinks you don't need friends."

"Well I've got news to you, whether you like it or not you have friends and we're not going anywhere so you better start acknowledging us." Naruto continued on oblivious to Sasuke's need to get out of this situation. For once the blonde's thick headedness had actually helped Sasuke and was now giving him some time to pull himself together. He was too tired for this, he needed to shower and sleep.

"I needed to think, so I came out here to train."

This time Naruto actually took notice of Sasuke's words. Sasuke watched as confusion once more covered Naruto's features. Was it really that rare that Sasuke simply answered a question? Surely the blonde was just over reacting.

"Will you tell me what you were thinking about?"

Maybe it was his exhaustion or the fact that Naruto had asked him and hadn't demanded. Or maybe it was because he had decided last night he was going to break his habit of pushing everyone away. Or maybe it was because it was Naruto, and regardless of the circumstances Naruto always had his way when it came to Sasuke. Sooner or later Naruto would win, and it seemed pointless to keep fighting him on everything now. Whatever the reason, Sasuke found himself once more answering the blonde's question.

"How to let go of my past and if I was capable of love." The words felt foolish coming out of Sasuke's mouth. He didn't think he had even uttered the word love with anything other than disdain since his parents had died. And now, here he was admitting to Naruto he wanted to let all of his hate go and talking about love like some girl. It made him sick, so while Naruto stood there in stunned silence, mouth open and eyes wide, Sasuke turned and finished the journey back to his house so that he could finally shower.

The hot water felt good on his strained muscles; though he was slightly worried all of the mud and debris was going to clog his shower. Drains were not meant to suck in pounds of mud, leaves, sticks and probably a few bugs. At least he was getting clean and for the time being the drain was still doing its job. Sasuke paused while he was washing his hair, suds threatening to spill over into his eyes, when he heard a loud crash and then the very distinct sound of loud footsteps and the blonde shouting his name. Before Sasuke could contemplate what the blonde was going on about now he heard the bathroom door being flung open shortly followed by the shower curtain being thrown back.

Naruto's blue eyes met Sasuke's with such intensity that Sasuke felt like he could actually be embarrassed.

"Naruto, have you ever heard of something called priva-"

He was cut off by Naruto grabbing him by the shoulders, apparently completely ignoring the fact that Sasuke was naked and this was very inappropriate.

"Did you mean what you said?"

"Naruto this is really not-"

He was cut off again by the blonde, "Did. You. Mean. What. You. Said?" The blondes grip tightened on Sasuke's shoulders, causing Sasuke to wince slightly but Naruto seemed disinterested in Sasuke's reaction to him barging in while he showered. Instead blue eyes never left black one's and Naruto's blue were filled with such an intensity that Sasuke was sure surpassed every time before. "Do you really want to change?" Naruto's voice was softer now and it shook slightly as if he was afraid of the answer. But that didn't make any sense, he had told Naruto the truth already, he already knew the answer. Confusion overpowered his concern for their proximity and his own indecency; leaving him speechless. What was going on? He wanted to just push the blonde away, yell at him, and then go back to showering, but those blue eyes held him immobile and beseeched him with such intensity to give him an answer that he couldn't bring himself to disappoint those eyes.

"Y-yes. I meant it." Did he just stutter? This was just too much, he could only handle so much change at once. Surely this was too much for anyone. He moved to shove Naruto off of him and tell him exactly how stupid he was when he felt his arms get crushed to his sides as Naruto forced a hug on him. Naruto was hugging him. Naruto. Was. Hugging. Him. HUGGING HIM. Sasuke, who was naked and wet, was being hugged by Naruto who was quickly getting wet himself from the shower. Okay that did it.

Sasuke slammed his knee up into Naruto's crotch making the blonde let go while he howled in pain. Sasuke then brought his fist up and hurled it into Naruto's face sending him flying backwards out of the bathroom. Sasuke could hear when Naruto hit the wall in the other room as he leaned out of the shower and slammed the shower door shut deftly turning the lock on the door once it was closed.

Sliding down the shower wall, Sasuke kneeled on the floor and let the hot water pour over him and placed his head in his hands. Why couldn't it have been Sakura who had found him? Sasuke finished his shower slowly, giving himself ample time to calm down and hopefully enough time to make Naruto get bored and go home. The gods knew Sasuke couldn't handle another show of affection from Naruto anytime soon. However, once again luck was not on Sasuke's side and when he got out of the shower hours later he could hear the shinobi rummaging through his kitchen. Probably looking for ramen. Sasuke dressed himself quickly, mostly because he didn't want Naruto to barge in again, but he took longer to leave the room. Why was Naruto even still here? Shouldn't he have run off to tell Sakura what had happened and send her here to try and make sure Sasuke wasn't going to kill Naruto? Obviously Naruto didn't see Sasuke as a big enough threat anymore, that was unfortunate.

Moving into the kitchen Sasuke raised a brow at the damage that had been done there from Naruto's perusal of food. Naruto grinned sheepishly at Sasuke and had the decency to look embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Sasuke, I'm really sorry about earlier. I…I was just so happy to hear that you wanted to change, that you would be okay…"

Naruto trailed off awkwardly, but Sasuke waved off his apology and began to pull ingredients out to make food.

"Stop messing up my kitchen and I will make dinner."

Naruto immediately stopped what he had been doing and went to sit down on a stool next to the counter, hands in his lap as if he were in timeout. Or having to physically restrain himself from touching anything. Sasuke then proceeded to ignore the blonde and began to cook, enjoying the silence that ensued. However, with Naruto around it couldn't really be silent for long and within minutes the shinobi was talking again.

"So what are you going to do now?"

"Hn?" Came the distracted reply as Sasuke cut vegetables, obviously trying to ignore the blonde.

"You spent your whole life trying to get revenge, what's your goal now?"

Sasuke paused, knife hovering above the carrots, and frowned at the mention of having a purpose. Naruto was right, he had spent his life trying to get revenge, now what did he do?

"I guess you did want to rebuild your clan." Naruto continued, not noticing Sasuke was actually paying attention to him.

Sasuke resumed chopping musing at the idea of rebuilding his clan, he wanted to, yes. But that would require having a wife. Sasuke grimaced briefly at that particular prospect. He knew he could have any of the girls in the village, but he wouldn't want to spend his life with a fangirl.

"What's Hinata like?"

Naruto paused, blinking at Sasuke, "What? Why?"

Sasuke shrugged, "It's just a thought, but she's never really chased me, and I wouldn't want to marry a fangirl to repopulate my clan. She's also a member of the Hyuga clan so her bloodline would be optimal to mix with my own to repopulate my clan."

Naruto balked at Sasuke, which led Sasuke to assume that the blonde wasn't too fond of the idea. "Don't you think you should marry someone for love?!"

Sasuke could feel another rant coming on so he broke in quickly to stop it, "Of course I do, my parents loved each other deeply. They would be disappointed in me if I married for any other reason. I'm just saying she's a possibility because she doesn't annoy me."

Sasuke finished the food and plated it, walking past Naruto to where the small table stood. He was surprised to hear Naruto chuckle before following him and taking a seat on a cushion."I think it would be funny to watch you try and date a girl, you would just scowl at them all the time."

"Better than acting like an idiot all the time, gotten a date from Sakura yet?" That earned Sasuke a menacing look from the blonde, but Sasuke was still lost in his own thoughts. Maybe Hinata really would be a good match. At least she was bound to be better than Sakura or Ino.

Chapter to follow: Alone

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	6. Chapter 5, Part 1

**EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS **I am NOT current on Naruto; I have now reached a point of the story where that will most likely become obvious. Please do NOT inform me of any wrong information, such as so and so is no longer the Kage. If necessary after I catch up I will come back and make any necessary changes. On another note, I'm gonna apologize right now, this chapter isn't my best. I realized too late that the format for this chapter was not optimal, but part 2 and then chapter 6 are going to be super awesome, and for being late part 1 is 3000 words and chapter 6 will be pretty massive. I want to thank everyone who reviewed, I got super excited about these next couple of chapters, but had a round of tests to deal with and then part 1 was giving me a lot of struggles. Well, enjoy and get excited for part 2! (It will be great, I promise ;) )

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any affiliated characters.

Chapter 5, Part 1: Alone

Sakura chewed on her bottom lip as her and her orange teammate flew through the trees, periodically jumping from branches to keep herself and her teammate in the air and moving forward. The snow had finally started to melt from the colder months, but the wind was still chilly enough that cloaks were necessary. This was especially true when the sun started to set, as it was currently doing. This was what was causing Sakura to bite her lip. They had been travelling all day toward the Sand and were almost at the border of the Land of Fire, which would be a safe place for them to stay the night. However, they did still have a couple of hours of sunlight left and could probably get significantly further in their journey. She knew that if she was already itching to get back to the village, then Naruto must be going crazy, but their journey had just begun and it would be weeks before they would be back, and that was if everything went well. It would take them a couple of days to get to the Hidden Sand after they reached the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers.

Resigned Sakura sighed shaking her head, they had to rest, it would do them no good exhausting themselves to try and get back sooner; they didn't know how long their mission would take and what they would encounter. Sasuke would just have to manage on his own, plus she had made Kakashi promise to check in on the Uchiha, so surely it would all be okay.

"Naruto" she called out, her voice startling them both out of their own thoughts, "We are going to have to make camp at the border."

Her teammate didn't reply, he just kept on moving, his face set with determination. Sakura followed his example and fell back into a contemplative silence while they drew closer and closer to the border. She didn't blame Lady Hokage, it made the most sense for the two of them to go and it was obvious something needed to be done. It was just so early; Sasuke had only been back for three months and while he had made progress: following demands, not killing anyone. Yet, she still felt like he was extremely fragile. He had been consumed with revenge and hatred for so long, could he really so easily break the cycle and slip into his new life? By the way Naruto had protested when Lady Tsunade had given them the mission, she assumed Naruto had the same fears.

They reached the border sooner than expected, both stopping suddenly and starring at the setting sun with a mixture of defiance and disdain. Naruto got to work gathering firewood and water leaving Sakura standing there a little stunned. Since they had set out, her friend had not said a single word, she had hoped that once they had were settled for the night he would talk, but it didn't seem like that was happening without a little encouragement. Sakura began unpacking their bags, while she waited for Naruto to return with the wood and water. Once he did, she built a fire and began boiling some of the water over the fire to cook with. While she waited, she watched as Naruto continued his tasks in silence, unrolling the bedrolls and checking over their supplies.

"Naruto," Sakura said firmly grabbing a stick as she began to draw a crude map in the dirt. "We need to go over the details of the mission."

She was once more greeted with silence prompting the vein in her forehead to threaten to explode and her fist to come barreling through the air to land on Naruto's head. "Listen Naruto," Sakura began again standing over his crumpled form, her hands on her hips, "this is for Sasuke's benefit. You knew the other Kage wouldn't be accepting of the Leaf's decision, and Lady Tsunde was going to have to deal with them sooner or later. Just be grateful that they are all giving us a chance to talk to them and aren't declaring war!"

"Gahh! I know all of that Sakura-chan!" declared a defiant Naruto, "But I don't see why we both had to go. One of us could talk sense into the other Kages and convince them that Sasuke isn't a threat, and one of us could stay with Sasuke and make sure…Aghh!" Naruto let out a yell in frustration gripping his hair. "I know Sasuke's not evil anymore, and I believe in him, but he can be so shady at times! And we still don't know why he came back or what happened, what really happened with Orochimaru, Itachi, or the Akatsuki. In short, we don't really know anything that's happened to him several years. What if…what if something's wrong and we don't know it?"

"Naruto," Sakura said again softer this time, "I know, I'm worried too. I know he has made progress, and you believe in him, but you still want to be there. Not to monitor him, but as his friend."

Naruto looked up from agonizing over his thoughts on the ground and nodded to Sakura, a smile appearing on his face. "I feel like he needs us, even if that's stupid." Naruto muttered the last part, embarrassed at even mentioning the idea.

"Lady Tsunade wanted both of us for a reason, Naruto. Look at it this way, I can present Sasuke's situation in a very logical form to try and convince the other nations that he is safe, while you are very passionate and persistent which helps when logic fails and to help make sure that we don't come back until the mission is a success. Neither of us will give up until all four Kage agree to the Leaf's decision concerning Sasuke."

Naruto sighed and nodded and then gestured to the map, "so what's your plan?"

Sakura's green eyes fell back to the dirt map which had gathered some debris from Naruto's previous antics of rolling around on the ground. She brushed the area clean again and redrew the map. "So we're here, at the border of Fire and Rivers, the Land of Wind is on the other side of Rivers."

"I know that Sakura-chan!" Naruto groaned, pulling at his hair again, "We're going to go see Gaara."

Naruto promptly received another thump on the head for his interruption, before Sakura continued in her speech, "It makes the most sense to see Gaara first because of both location and relations. His village is the closest to ours and he is the most likely to agree with the Leaf's plan because of the relationship the Hidden Sand and Leaf have." She glanced up to make sure Naruto was still listening and hadn't drifted off before she continued.

"Above the Land of Wind is the Land of Earth, there we will go see the Tsuchikage, he and Lady Tsunade have a long history and there's a lot of trust there, in addition after the war he was rather impressed by Gaara so it is likely with both the Leaf and the Sand in agreement he will also leave Sasuke's fate to the Leaf."

Naruto was nodding along as she spoke; he sat on the ground, legs tucked under him, hands on his knees and, a look of sheer determination on his face. "So.." he began slowly, face all scrunched up in thought, "we are asking those who we have better relations with first, so that the other Kages will feel more pressure even though the Leaf isn't as close to them?" Sakura smiled and nodded rather impressed, she had been worried any talk of politics would cause Naruto to immediately stop listening. "So we would go to the Land of Lightning next?" he asked opening his eyes for confirmation.

Sakura nodded pointing to the Land of Lightning on the map, "Yes, from Earth we will travel by land to Lightning to speak with the Raikage. He is actually one of the ones who we are most concerned about agreeing to our terms, but Lady Tsunade was hoping your relationship with Killer Bee would be able to influence his decision. After that we will take a boat to the Land of Water where we will have to persuade the final Kage." Sakura sighed and sat back on her heels. "Lady Tsunade said if the rest of the Kage agreed, then the Mizukage will most likely fall in line and that we will have the most trouble with the Raikage."

"Then why don't we ask him last?"

Sakura chewed her lip and shook her head, "We would have to double back more, this mission will already take several weeks and Lady Tsunade wants us to finish as soon as possible in fear that the other nations might act before we can convince them otherwise."

"So we're stuck then" Sakura nodded as he stood, forming a fist to punch up into the air, "Then we will just have to convince him that Sasuke Uchiha is now the most lawful citizen ever!"

A soft laugh came from Sakura as she finally relaxed back against a tree, Naruto was acting like his old self again and that would be enough to make anyone happy. She watched contently as he finished the food without her and gave her a plate. She guessed she must have ate it, because before long Naruto had grabbed the empty plate she had been holding and was already working on washing it. By the time he was through, the sun had fully set and they were encased in darkness, the fire glowing brightly in the middle of their camp. She sat still, watching the shadows dance around the flames and found herself strangely at peace. Naruto was confident and Sasuke was safe back at the Leaf. With the two of them by her side, what could go wrong?

Sakura wasn't sure how much time had passed, or exactly when she had fallen asleep and started dreaming about marrying Sasuke, but when she opened her eyes the fire was still burning bright and a blanket was wrapped around her. "N-Naruto?" she murmured rubbing her eyes and inwardly chiding herself. How could she fall asleep? She was on a mission! Her and Naruto hadn't even agreed to who would go on watch first. She blushed when she realized that would just mean that Naruto took the first watch, and probably would have just stayed awake all night if she had kept sleeping.

"Did I wake you?"

Sakura glanced over to where he was sitting, the light from the fire dancing across his face and shook her head. "I'm sorry Naruto, I shouldn't have fallen asleep." She stood and stretched sighing as her back popped a few times and grinned at the blonde, "I can watch now, you need your sleep too!"

Naruto nodded slowly, but didn't move toward his bedroll; instead his blue eyes went back to staring into the fire. "You weren't asleep for long; I only added wood to the fire once…" he trailed off distracted by the fire again.

"Naruto?" Sakura said softly moving to sit next to him and closer to the warmth of the fire; the nights were still awfully cold even if the days weren't. "Are you okay?" This was the second time today the blond haired ninja was distant. It was usually such a rare occurrence Sakura was a little afraid he was actually sick. She chewed on her lip, waiting for his answer.

"Yeah" came his belated reply, "I was just thinking about something Sasuke said before we left."

Sakura grinned and punched him lightly on the shoulder, "You know Kakashi warned you about thinking too hard, said it might actually make your head explode." He laughed in reply, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head and Sakura visibly relaxed. Admittedly they both had a lot to think about, especially when it came to Sasuke, and during this mission they would have a lot of time to do it. Maybe that meant that Sasuke would spend the whole time thinking about them. Sakura blushed lightly at the possibility and grinned as she drifted off into a day dream completely forgetting Naruto and his brooding.

"Sakura-chan, are you still in love with Sauske?"

Sakura blinked when she was pulled from her daydream and frowned at the shinobi sitting next to her, "Naruto, I thought we talked about this. I'm sorry, but I don't want to go on a date with you."

Naruto laughed nervously, afraid of getting hit, and waved his hands in front of him, "No, no! I wasn't trying to ask you out again…not after last time." Naruto visible flinched at the memory of his head being punched into a wall and shook slightly. "I was just wondering if you were going to try and date Sasuke."

Sakura watched him for a moment, unsure if she could actually trust him. It wouldn't be too farfetched for him to plan to ask and then deny when he realized it wouldn't go well…Sakura began chewing her bottom lip again and sighed. Naruto wouldn't lie, she wasn't sure he was able to, but did that mean she should tell the truth. While it was no secret her feelings for Sasuke, it was also no secret Naruto's feelings for her, but she didn't want to hurt him by rubbing it in his face that she preferred his best friend over him.

"What about you and Hinata? She proclaimed her love for you and everything; she's had eyes on you since we were in the Academy."

Naruto blushed a deep red, hands moving behind his head as he laughed nervously. "I-I'm not s-s-sure she'll be available for m-mu-much l-l-longer" he stuttered blue eyes suddenly refusing to meet her own as they suddenly became very interested in the floor.

"Wah?!" Sakura nearly shouted excitedly, "Do you know something I don't? Oh! It's Kiba isn't it?! He's so protective of her!"

Naruto was visible shrinking away from the pink haired ninja, fear began to creep across his features as he scooted further away from the fire. "No, It's not Kiba…"

"Then who?" she demanded impatiently, oblivious to Naruto's current state.

"S-S-Sasuke" Naruto barely managed to get the name out, and when it did it came out just above a whisper. Regardless Sakura heard the name, she head the name and she froze.

"Explain" The excitement and laughter had left her voice in its place was a tone similar to the one she had used on him years ago, back when they were still Team 7.

"I was talking to Sasuke and he mentioned asking Hinata out as a possible marriage prospective." Naruto spoke quickly, backing away from the ninja even faster. Sakura, however, wasn't moving. Instead she was still as stone. She wasn't even thinking, she was just so shocked she couldn't function. Her mind had quite literally shut down. She probably would have stayed like that for hours if Naruto had ever been a patient person; instead he began slowly creeping back unsure of his position in the situation.

"Sakura?" he asked slowly, his voice steady but his eyes flicking around nervously, "Are you okay?"

She didn't answer but stood suddenly and turned away from her friend, "I need to be alone, I'll be back before it's time to leave." With that she left the warmth of the fire and moved up into the trees and the cold darkness. She wasn't entirely sure where she was going, but the moon was at least bright enough that she could see where she was stepping. It would just make the night absolutely perfect if she sprained an ankle from being unable to see. "Why?" she whispered having to fight back tears. Was he really going to date someone else? Fall in love with someone else? Who was there that could understand him like she could? Her and Naruto had believed in him the entire time. She wasn't the same person she had been! Couldn't he see that? Couldn't he see that she was patient now? That she wasn't as mean or abusive. Was she really _still_ not good enough?

Sakura fell to her knees, clutching her stomach as she fought back her tears. Gripping at her skin hard enough to cause pain, using the pain to chase back the sadness, but all it did was increase her misery. Her feelings of loneliness. How could she make him see? She heard footsteps behind her and she whirled around to face the person who was behind her only to find Naruto standing there with his hands raised. A determined look was in his blues eyes, the blues eyes she couldn't quite bring herself to meet. How pathetic was she? Falling apart because some guy didn't like her.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto began slowly, "He doesn't like her, I asked him about rebuilding his clan and he mentioned Hinata because of her eyes. He's just confused and he doesn't know how to try to be normal. Don't take it too hard, even if he doesn't choose you, he still cares about you."

Sakura nodded slowly closing her eyes, a final push at the tears. What Naruto said made sense, it would be how Sasuke thought. He thought he couldn't love so why try and date someone out of love. When she got back to the village she would just have to convince him to go on a date with her. She wouldn't give up, she couldn't give up because, in the end, it wasn't ever just some guy. It was Sasuke. And Sasuke? He was worth it all.

Chapter to Follow: Alone Part 2


	7. Chapter 5, Part 2

Whoops! Look at that, another post for my lovelies. This one is also extra long. Read and review! (And enjoy)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any affiliated characters.

Chapter 5, Part 2: Alone

The Uchiha let out an exasperated sigh as he sat on the edge of the bed. Sunlight was pouring into his room, warming his skin from where he sat. In the corner, the flowers Sakura had given him before she and Naruto had left on their mission were starting to die. It had been two weeks since they had left, which meant it had also been two weeks since he had left his compound for any reason other than work. His work was the only thing which was keeping him sane at the moment, three to four times a week he went and organized scrolls. The old lady who was in charge didn't care much for chit chat and largely left him alone as long as he did his work. It was in the dusty library he could find a temporary peace. It was gone as soon as he left, but while there his mind wasn't preoccupied with the two ninja currently missing from the village. Sasuke let out a scoff, and stood walking away from the streams of sunlight and toward the kitchen. His bare feet padded across the cold floors, black eyes looking distractedly through his cupboards for food. He really needed to get out, he knew that, but it just seemed like so much trouble. Going out meant socializing, and that meant pretending he cared about what anyone else thought. The Uchiha let out another dramatic sigh, before he leaned against the counter in his kitchen.

He had planned on approaching Hinata; at least that was what he had told Naruto. Sasuke shook his head, rubbing him temples. The things he said around Naruto made no sense. Date Hinata? He didn't want to date anyone, much less have sex with anyone. He was well aware it would be necessary for him to rebuild his clan, but that didn't change the fact that he wasn't particularly interested in the subject. It was more like an obligation, than a desire. Yet he had gone and run his mouth to Naruto and if he didn't at least ask Hinata he would never hear the end of it from the blond. He let out another grunt running his hands though his hair and glancing out the window. Getting the whole ordeal over with now would probably be best. Why had he said that? It wasn't like she would say yes; he had heard she was in love with Naruto. So now he had to go out just to be rejected. Life was easier before he had returned to the village.

He pulled his shoes and then shrugged on a jacket only to pause while he stared at the headband in his hands. Humiliation was just the name of the game nowadays. He smirked, it made sense. Of course the Hokage would want to make sure he was actually invested in staying in the village. What better way to test that then make him ignore his pride? He tied the headband around his head and flicked at the metal. His pride had gotten him in this mess in the first place; it was in his best interest if he took himself down a notch or two. What better way to do that then to be rejected for a date? Leaving his thoughts behind, he stepped out into the cold and made his way to the Hyuga compound.

The snow was mostly gone, only still persisting in hidden patches where the sun seldom reached. As he walked, he could feel the stares, the gazes, which lingered on his headband. Even after several months, he wasn't trusted in the village. To be fair, he hadn't actually made an attempt to give the villagers a reason to trust him, their trust wasn't important. The only ones whose trust was important were off convincing the Kage to trust in the Hokage's decision to keep him alive. Trust was a funny thing, it could completely form a relationship and make it last through numerous trials and several years, or in its absence it could create a mob.

Sasuke paused briefly at the gates of the Hyuga compound and took in the scene before him. It was fairly similar to the Uchiha compound, except the compound in front of him was filled with people, while his only held himself and some Anbu. Sasuke cursed mentally when he remembered his guards. They would be watching his entire rejection, probably draw some enjoyment from the show too. He groaned, rubbing his temples. He knew they weren't pleased, babysitting him. Especially when he wasn't going to try and do anything. The last time anything eventful had happened was when he had decided to personally destroy the Uchiha training grounds, he had gotten a notice form the Hokage after that, warning him of the implications of too many similar outbursts. It couldn't be helped, if he left now they would have something to laugh about anyways. They would have heard the conversation with Naruto, he just needed to get over the fact that for the next several months he would have no privacy. Letting out a long breath he moved into the compound; wondering how long it would take him to find Hinata.

Sasuke, however, was never very lucky and instead of finding Hinata he found himself face to face with her father, Hiashi. This was why he didn't leave his home.

"Sasuke Uchiha, to what do we owe your visit?" Hiashi's tone was distant indicating his distaste for the Uchiha.

"I was looking for Hinata-san, if she's not here I can come back later, Hiashi-sama." The honorifics slipped off Sasuke's tongue like honey, but they both knew better. Even without Sasuke's history, the clans were never very fond of each other.

"And what business, pray tell, do you have with my daughter?"

Sasuke groaned inwardly, resisting the urge to rub his temples, this was all Naruto's fault. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he was positive that it was all the blonds fault and when he got back Sasuke was going to give him such a thrashing. "I intend to ask your daughter on a date, Hiashi-sama."

Sasuke watched as Hiashi appraised him, least he would get rejected by the father and not by Hinata herself. That was surely less humiliating; he couldn't help his past. Sasuke was almost relieved, but him and luck and never been on good terms.

"In the future, it would be wise when asking for a romantic relationship with someone from the Hyuga clan to ask the father first. However, I am aware your return to the village was fairly recent so your ignorance on such rules can be…momentarily overlooked. I shall inform Hinata of your…interests. When do you plan to escort my daughter on your date?"

Sasuke had to work to not stare at Hiashi with an open mouth, not only was he allowing Sasuke to date his daughter, but he was going to make his daughter date him. Things couldn't be any worse. He didn't want to force the poor girl into being with him. He had just wanted to ask to appease Naruto. Why appeasing Naruto had mattered so much was its own troubling thought which needed to be dealt with later. At the moment he had to give Hiashi details on dating Hinata. "I could come get her Friday night at 8, if that's alright with you Hiashi-sama."

Hiashi nodded and then turned, walking away dismissing Sasuke from the compound. Sasuke, for his part, couldn't get home fast enough. Once safely inside his own home he kicked off his shoes and slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. He put his head in his hands, thumbs massing his temples furiously. How had this happened? This was worse than humiliation. Now he was stuck going on a date with the Hyuga and if he didn't find a way out of it, Hiashi might try and force more than one date on his daughter. Sasuke hit the back of his head against the wall, his annoyance with the whole situation was bursting at the brim. He was going to beat Naruto bloody when he and Sakura came back. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly when he remembered Sakura and he slammed his head against the wall again. Sakura, the woman who has asked for his love before leaving, was quick to anger, and packed a heavy punch. She was going to be furious if she came back and found out he and Hinata had gone on a date. It was days like this that made him seriously question his judgment of coming back to the village. Sasuke closed his eyes and remembered what it was like before he came back and shook his head. So maybe he was better off here. He let out a long breath and then stood, determined to make himself some tea, read a book, and pretend this whole day hadn't happened. His plans were interrupted before he had even made it to the kitchen by a loud banging at his door. This day literally couldn't get any worse.

Sasuke opened the door only to be slammed back against the wall, his eyes flashed red with his sharingan and he pulled his fist back and slammed it into his attacker. His attacker fell back onto the ground but was quickly up again, except his attacker crouched on all fours like a dog…"Kiba?" Sasuke asked incredulous, what the hell? Why was Kiba attacking him?

"What the hell do you think you're doing Uchiha?!" Kiba screamed, launching himself at Sasuke again. Sasuke jumped up and over Kiba, slamming him face first into the ground when he did.

"I'm trying to enjoy the comforts of _my home_. What do you think I'm doing?" Sasuke landed on the other side of Kiba and took a few steps backwards, moving outdoors so that if the fight continued it wouldn't destroy his house. He had seen Kiba's fang over fang; it wasn't an attack for indoors. Where were the Anbu guards? Surely they were supposed to stop people from attacking him. Sasuke growled as his sharingan scanned the area, unable to find a single guard. Great, just great. They probably left hoping Kiba would be able to rough him up.

"You know what I mean! You and Hinata!" Before Sasuke could respond to Kiba's accusations, Kiba had already launched himself at Sasuke again a kick darting out aimed at Sasuke's head. Sasuke ducked and moved to roll under the kick only to find another body ramming into him and slamming him against a tree. Sasuke had forgotten about the dog, whatever his name was.

"What do you care?" Sasuke spat, punching the dog and sending him flying. "If you liked her, you should have asked her out, you've had years to act. Can't get upset just because I beat you to it" sneered a very smug Sasuke.

This, while true, was not the best thing to say to calm down an enraged Kiba. Kiba then called to his dog and called out his signature attack; "Fang over fang!" Both he and the dog leaped into the air and began to turn until they formed a twister that was currently aiming itself toward Sasuke. Blue lightning began to crackle along Sasuke's right arm as he readied himself to counter. As the swirling mass of man and dog came hurtling toward him, Sasuke launched himself off the ground landing on a branch above where he had been standing. "Chidori!" he yelled causing the blue lightning to completely encase his arm. His eyes widened when he realized that Kiba had changed direction and was now heading toward where he stood. He jumped again, colliding head first with the twister his chidori blasting man and dog apart. The blast sent Kiba and Akamaru flying in separate directions, while Sasuke regained his balance in the air and landed on another tree branch.

"Kiba, You need to get off my property. Now."

Kiba sat up from where he had landed from the blast and spat on the ground in answer. "Not until you're dead, Uchiha." Kiba tensed readying himself for another attack to find himself unable to move.

"Shadow procession complete" said a bored voice from somewhere behind Kiba. Kiba, however, was unable to move his head to see what had happened. "Sasuke" said the same voice, "Sorry he's been causing you trouble. He's never had much for brains."

Sasuke jumped down from the tree to face Shikamaru and Kiba. He didn't say anything, instead he just watched as Shikamaru slowly released his shadow procession jutsu over Kiba.

"Damnit Shikamaru, why did you have to get involved?" Kiba growled, promptly ignoring Sasuke to focus on Shikamaru.

"And let you just fight a comrade?" Shikamaru sighed and watched as Akamaru moved back to his master's side whining slightly. "It doesn't matter what you think. Sasuke is a member of the Leaf and you can't just attack him because he asked a girl out."

"He didn't ask her out! He asked Hiashi and now he's forcing her to date him!"

"Fine, beat him up. Break his limbs and leave him bleeding, but I wouldn't want to be you when Naruto and Sakura get back."

Sasuke raised a brow, but said nothing; did those two really have such a reputation? Were they protecting him? That was just absurd. He was entirely capable of taking care of himself. When had they gotten so strong? Kiba growled and kicked the ground, but he shoved past Shikamaru and left the Uchiha compound, thankfully not having done any real damage to it. Shikamaru paused before leaving, turning to look at Sasuke.

"I know he was stupid and shouldn't have attacked you, but it would be in your best interest to avoid all future fights at all costs. Especially while those two are gone." He nodded and then followed Kiba and Akamaru out of the Uchiha compound. Sasuke sighed and rubbed his temples. He was just done with this day.

Friday came far too soon for Sasuke. He desperately wanted to leave the village and be done with the whole mess, but anytime he thought seriously about leaving their faces would come to mind and he would lose all willpower to leave. So instead, he found himself outside the Hyuga compound Friday evening dressed in his normal clothes, he had half hoped that Hiashi would view it as an insult and would cancel the date. However, as per usual luck was not Sasuke's friend and instead he found himself walking toward a small out of the way restaurant with an admittedly gorgeous Hinata. She was dressed in a deep purple kimono which brought out the lavender in her eyes and made her look absolutely stunning. Sasuke couldn't help wonder if she had picked out the attire or someone else. Neither of them actually spoke on their way to the restaurant, in fact it wasn't until they had been seated and actually ordered that Hinata began poking her fingers together looking like she was trying to gather up the courage to actually speak.

"Sasuke-san, I don't…That is."

Sasuke held up a hand and shook his head, "I know Hinata, I did not intend to force you into this. I had planned on asking you, but I ran into your father and…he was quite persistent." Hinata blushed, eyes still focusing on the table in front of them. "It's not just that, I…" she trailed off under Sasuke's gaze, finding it difficult to speak. Sasuke sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"If this is about you loving Naruto, I already know that as well."

Hinata jerked her head up and looked at him confused, "Then why try to ask me out at all?" her voice was soft and curious. It seemed her comfort level had increased once he stated he already knew of her love for Naruto. Apparently she had been concerned of him forcing a relationship on her, no wonder Kiba had reacted so strongly. Apparently this woman didn't know how to tell her father, or any other male, no.

"Attempted socialization." He stated firmly, it was what he had taken to telling himself. He shook his head and watched her. "Don't view this as a date; instead you're helping to rehabilitate the infamous Sasuke Uchiha." His voice was dry, but hopefully she would accept his reasons and wouldn't ask him anymore questions. Their food came before she could respond and they spent the next few minutes in silence.

"Why a date? You could have asked anyone just to spend time with you, why me?"

Sasuke sighed and looked at her, this time she actually made eye contact. He should just lie to her, it wasn't any of her business and he didn't owe her anything. There was no reason to open up to this girl. "They want me to love." He could lie, but apparently he wasn't going to. Had he really been that lonely without them? Had he grown so used to contact he was willing to let his guard down around someone else? "As for 'why you', I find you the least annoying." He put his chopsticks down and glared at her, daring her to say anything, to challenge him.

"You mean Naruto and Sakura?"

Sasuke didn't say anything, but it wouldn't take a genius to figure out who he meant. He only spent time with two people in the village; really there was no one else he could mean. Hinata's next words, however, took him by surprise.

"I understand," she whispered quietly, "I understand going out of your comfort zone and desperately trying to improve yourself for those you care about." She laughed slightly and smiled at him, "I improved for Naruto too, I guess we have something in common."

Chapter to Follow- Chapter 6: Festival

_Psst, where you review is right below, yeah right there. ;) _


	8. Chapter 6

Alright, so we have quite the laundry list today so let's just get to it.

1\. Because of the material of the chapter, the format is slightly different. Basically there is one time skip and a name in italics means it's now that person's p.o.v

2\. I LOVE LOVE LOVE your reviews and messages, they make me SO HAPPY, but I need to ask that if you want me to answer your questions please don't post as a guest, so I can pm you. I fill up too much space up here as is.

3\. Alright, let's talk about Sakura. So I know at least a third of you hate this girl, (I know because about a third of you skipped chapter three *eye twitch*) And many of you have expressed that I write Sakura as too nice or not bitchy enough. These are your opinions and you are entitled to them, I just wanted to take a moment and explain why I write her as such, you are welcome to disagree with me, I just wanted to show you all my reasoning. I would argue that Sakura has grown considerably and is no longer the self-centered, shallow, bitchy character. Here's why I think that: She became self aware enough to realize what her promise was doing to Naruto and tried to fix what she had done. She tried to kill Sasuke, even if she failed she realized the arguments for why it was the right thing to do. She has become a good deal less violent, especially to Naruto and is seen supporting him more than critiquing him. She also has become more silent, she has a lot fewer lines the later you get in the series and I believe this is on purpose, in the beginning if she was in a scene she couldn't shut-up, now there are several scenes with her not talking or barely talking at all. I think this shows an inner growth and how she is starting to reflect on what is going on around her. I think all this points to character growth and her starting to become more compassionate and aware of those around her which would foster a deeper understanding of those she cares about. In regards to her loving Sasuke, as far as I'm concerned someone who continues to loves someone for years without any real contact is real love. She could have gotten over it and dated someone else if it was just a crush, plus he tried to kill her. Yes, she doesn't really know him, but you could argue Naruto doesn't really know him anymore either; he just has a better understanding of his pain. Okay, I don't want to take more space with this, but please feel free to message or review if you would like to continue this discussion.

4\. Finally, please remember this is a SasuNaru fic. I promise, it will get there, however, my goal is to have the relationship develop in the most natural way possible which includes a whole lot of steps.

Chapter 6: Festival

_Naruto_

Naruto slammed his fists down on the table as the Raikage refused to listen to reason. It didn't matter what Sakura said, what evidence she gave, or that the majority of the other Kage had already consented to Tsunade's will. This wasn't working and they had already spent over a week here trying to convince the Raikage to pardon Sasuke. This was taking too long!

"What do you need?!" Naruto demanded ignoring all courtesies and Sakura who had been in the middle of speaking, "What will it take for you to trust the Hokage's judgment and not come after Sasuke?!"

Silence fell across the room, but Naruto was not paying attention to that or anyone else in the room. Instead his blue eyes were trained on the Raikage as he waited for the answer. There had to be something he could do to make this man give up his hunt for Sasuke; and all Naruto wanted to do was get back home to the Leaf. The Raikage smirked at him his remaining hand splayed across the surface of the table.

"You speak like an ignorant child who is impatient and only concerned about what he wants. You are concerned about one person; a person who is a rogue ninja and a former member of the Akatsuki. He is wanted for numerous crimes, yet you fight to protect him. You are fighting for your own self interest and not the good of your village! I will not stand to allow such a man to run free and risk my own village!"

"You're right," Naruto said softly, "I am doing this out of self interest. Sasuke is my friend and I made a promise a long time ago. I promised to bring him back, but he came back on his own. Now I am fighting for his right to make amends and to right his past wrongs. I made a promise that I would make sure he has the chance; and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that happens. Because that's my ninja way!"

Naruto knew everyone was staring at him now, but he needed to focus on the Raikage. He needed to make him see that he would never give up, no matter what, and that if the Raikage wouldn't trust Sasuke he should trust in him.

"You trusted me once before, trust me on this too. I know Sasuke better than anyone else; he means what he is saying. If he had an ulterior motive he would have left a long time ago. It's been months, but Sasuke has remained in the village. He's been working in the library, because he can't work as a ninja. He has put up with the villagers distrust even though he did not have to. He came back on his own. All we are asking is that you give him the chance to prove that he has changed. If he attacks again, then it will be your right to carry out the punishment, but Sasuke isn't going to attack. He's changed, he is changing."

The Raikage stared at Naruto in silence, no one else dared to speak while he thought over Naruto's words. The success of their mission rested on the Raikage's shoulders, and Naruto was not sure if he had successfully persuaded the Raikage. In the past, words failed to work when it came to changing the Raikage's mind. It was action, you had to show the Raikage that things could be different, but that was a little difficult with Sasuke being unable to leave the Leaf. Naruto glanced briefly at Sakura and saw her chewing on her bottom lip, guess she wasn't too confident. Naruto's eyes went back to the Raikage and he clenched his fist in determination, if Sakura could not be confident in his ability to change the Raikage's mind then he would just have to believe in himself. Failure was not an option; he would succeed no matter what. The silence continued on for several more minutes before the white haired female in the room finally took a step forward and spoke.

"Sasuke Uchiha is a member of the Leaf, and therefore the Leaf's responsibility. We could only interfere if we caught him in the Cloud or attacked the Leaf."

The Raikage glanced at his assistant and then gave a slow nod. "Give me the damned paperwork to sign. I give my consent on the grounds of not wanting to break our alliance with the Leaf." The entire room let out a breath at once as people sprang into action to get the Raikage the document he would need to sign. Naruto glanced at Sakura and grinned flashing her a thumbs up. They were almost home.

xxx

A large grin was plastered across his face when he barreled into the Uchiha compound. "Yo! Sasuke!" Naruto shouted as he randomly tramped through Sasuke's home looking for the ex-shinobi. Naruto frowned when he finished going through all of the rooms and was unable to find his friend. Utter confusion and disbelief set in as Naruto tried to think of any logical reason for why Sasuke would not be home. Maybe he was kidnapped! Or maybe Tsunade had summoned him! Naruto frowned shaking his head, Tsunade would have said if Sauske had been kidnapped or she had summoned him. A familiar annoyed voice pulled him out of his thoughts, before Naruto could continue to ponder the other excuses for why Sasuke would not be home.

"Naruto? What are you doing?" Sasuke was suddenly behind him looking very dirty, sweaty, and confused.

"Nahh! Where were you? I just got back and then you weren't here! I looked everywhere!"

Sasuke did not look impressed with what Naruto had to say, in fact Naruto was sure he saw Sasuke's eye do the tic it did whenever he had succeeded in royally annoying the Uchiha. None of that made any sense though; all he had done was look for him in his house. Naruto paused as his brain caught up to the rest of him. In his house. He had only looked for Sasuke in his house, but Sasuke had a job and a large amount of land which he liked to train on. There was no reason Sasuke would only be in his house, in fact Tsunade had basically ordered him not to sulk in his house for a year…

"Guess you were training?"

"Hn"

"That's cool, Sakura-chan and I just got back. We did it! We got all of the other Kage to agree to Tsunade's decision! You're safe!"

"Hn"

Naruto frowned folding his arms across his chest, "Is that really all you have to say? It's been a month! Sakura and I missed you! We thought you would at least care. It's a good thing Sakura-chan went home first, because you're just acting like a royal jerk."

"Why isn't she here?"

"What?"

"Sakura, why didn't she come with you? Like you said, it's been a month. Didn't she _care_?" Sasuke's sneer was evident, but with Naruto Sasuke was always sneering so Naruto didn't pay much attention to it. Instead, Naruto was more hung up on what Sasuke was saying.

"You're upset that she's not here?" When silence was his only reply, Naruto did what he always did and just pushed on, "Look man, she doesn't have as much chakra as us and we've been gone for a month. She's exhausted plus…" Naruto fell silent and then sighed, eyes moving toward the floor and away from Sasuke. "Plus…I told her you planned on asking out Hinata, so she's probably a little upset."

Sasuke snorted causing Naruto's hands to clinch into fists. "Guess we are only friends if she thinks she has a chance with me."

Naruto's fist connected with Sasuke's face before he had even finished his sentence. There was no way Naruto would let Sasuke talk bad about Sakura like that. It just wasn't right…

"She's loved you for years, damnit." Naruto could feel tears pooling behind his eyes, but he wasn't really sure why they were forming or why he was suddenly so intensely angry or upset. "She would do anything for you and you won't even bother to give her the time of day. If you honestly think she would stop being your friend, just because you did not want to date her then you haven't been paying attention all of these years. For years she has loved you while you have done nothing but hate and scorn her. You have ignored her, scoffed at her, and even tried to kill her, but still her love persists. She cares about you damnit, this isn't some school crush for her. And you owe her at least the curtsey of recognizing the depth of her feelings. Even if you don't feel the same, you can't just disregard her feelings and discredit them like that! For gods sake, we just spent a month guaranteeing your freedom! How is that not caring?"

Sasuke stared at Naruto for a long time, before he pushed past the blond and into the shower. Naruto heard the clear and defiant click of the bathroom door lock before the sound of running water. Naruto sighed, running a hand through his hair before he moved toward the living room and took a seat on one of the floor cushions. Naruto closed his eyes and worked on slowing his breathing as he waited for Sasuke to get out of the shower. It had been a month since the two had last talked and Naruto was determined to have their meeting at least end on a positive note. Naruto sighed again wondering if their time apart had made Sasuke start acting like a jerk again, or if he really was just upset that Sakura hadn't come to see him first thing. Did that mean he loved Sakura? Or was he just upset because he thought that it meant she really didn't value him as a friend? Naruto let out a groan and let his body fall backwards so he was lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. This was all too complicated for his liking.

It seemed to take forever, but eventually Sasuke appeared in the living room barefoot and his black hair sticking to his face and neck. Neither said a word for a while as Sasuke started a fire and then made them both a cup of tea. Naruto ignored the disgusting drink, but Sasuke cradled his cup in his hands and sat down on a cushion right next to the fire. After a few more minutes of Sasuke slowly drinking his tea Naruto grew impatient and sat up to stare at his friend. He wanted Sasuke to be the first one to talk; otherwise he wouldn't do much talking. So even though it was killing him, Naruto would remain silent, but he didn't have to be patient about it.

"I went on a date with Hinata while you were gone."

"What?!" Naruto was glad he wasn't drinking any of the tea, because if he had been it would be all over the floor and Sasuke right now which would surely put Sasuke in a foul mood.

Sasuke waited for Naruto to calm down before he began giving any actual details, "I ended up having to ask her father for permission, though I had meant to just ask her, so he ended up forcing her to go with me. Otherwise she probably would have said no." Sasuke then calmly resumed drinking his tea.

"Well...How was it? Are you two dating now?"

Sasuke scoffed and gave Naruto a wry look, "Hardly. My asking Hinata out actually got Kiba all riled, so after our date he then approached her and confessed his love or something. Apparently that had been Hiashi's plan the entire time. He only wanted me to take his daughter out, because he thought it would make Kiba actually do something."

Naruto blinked and laughed; glad that even in his dating ventures he had never been embarrassed that badly. "Oh man that sucks, forced on a date so another guy would ask her out."

Sasuke didn't seem amused by the situation, but he didn't seem angry about it either. He was just calmly waiting for Naruto to get control of himself and to stop laughing.

"You don't look to upset, so that's good."

Sasuke shrugged, taking another sip of his tea. "I wasn't expecting anything to come of it, but Hinata and I talked and she was…pleasant. She visited once or twice while you were gone. Although the dog didn't seem to thrilled about the matter."

Naruto paused and stared at Sasuke with an open mouth, "She's been visiting you? Like you two are friends?!" Naruto laughed falling back on his back again and grinned up at the ceiling. "That's great Sasuke. Sakura and I were worried you would be lonely while we were gone, but look! You went out and you made another friend! That's like three friends! Four if you include Kakashi…did he come over at all? Sakura-chan said she made him promise he would come visit."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but chose not to comment on whatever it was Naruto said that he disagreed with. "Kakashi showed up yesterday, I think he heard that you two were on your way back and wanted to make sure to come by before Sakura got back. He had some excuse, but I was not particularly attentive while he was here."

Naruto nodded still grinning like a fool at the ceiling. "Hey Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"I'm glad we're back."

Sasuke didn't respond, but Naruto hadn't expected him to. He knew that Sasuke had missed them; he knew that Sasuke cared, and that was enough for him.

_Sakura _

Sakura frowned as she looked in the mirror for what she swore would be the last time. She and Naruto had just gotten back from their mission. They had debriefed with Lady Tsunade, telling her the mission was a success, and then Naruto had immediately left to see Sasuke. She had declined to follow immediately, she needed to gather her emotions and decide what exactly she was going to do. She let out a rather dramatic sigh pushing her hair back behind her ear. She couldn't keep chasing him like this. It was madness, still… Sakura chewed on her bottom lip, deep green eyes staring back at her in the mirror. She felt that if he would just give her a single chance she could put everything behind her. Even if they didn't work out, at least then she would know. As things stood, even if she did move on she would always wonder if she had just tried hard enough then she could have made it work, she could have made a difference. Sakura fisted her fingers, a look of determination in her eyes. She was strong and capable; she would get a date with Sasuke and finish this once and for all. She would either find true love with him or be given the chance to actually see that it would not work; and this was the time to act. Sasuke was ready, he was considering the options and he was willing to at least give someone like Hinata a chance, so why not her?

She had supported him and fought for him with Naruto all these years. She may not have done as much as Naruto, but she was there and she had done her best the whole time. It was true her best had not always been enough, she had always lagged behind the other two and had always been watching their backs. Things were different now though, she was no longer staring at their backs. She was a strong and powerful shinobi in her own right and she had shown them both during the war that she had grown and was now more than capable. She had relied on them for years, but she no longer needed to.

She owed it to herself to get an answer once and for all and now was the time. Brimming with confidence and determination she left her home and set out to the Uchiha compound, hoping she did not run into anyone who would shake her confidence. Sakura had luck on her side and was soon standing in front of the Uchiha compound. She wasn't sure if the Anbu had stopped trying to conceal themselves or if she was just bothering to notice them today, but she was pretty sure she knew where at least half of the guards were. Today there was no pausing outside of Sasuke's door; she didn't stand outside willing herself to have the courage to knock. Instead she walked right up to that door and knocked immediately, she wasn't going to be rude and just barge in after all. Sasuke answered the door soon after.

"You just missed Naruto, he left about five minutes ago." Sasuke said, stepping aside to let Sakura in oblivious to her disinterest in having any sort of small talk. Sakura could not risk any distractions for fear of losing her confidence and being reduced to waiting on the sideline. She followed him into the living room, but remained standing while he sat.

"You're dating Hinata?" She couldn't beat around the bush, she would have to dive in or not do it at all. Sasuke took a long time to answer, watching her carefully with his beautiful black eyes. Under any other circumstance Sakura would have probably blushed from him watching her so closely, but at the moment all of her attention was mostly directed inward and at making sure she went through with it.

"We went on a date."

"So you're not exclusive?" When he did not answer her she took it as a no and plowed on before he could protest, "I want you to take me on one date. One. If it doesn't work out then fine, if it does even better. I refuse to be ignored as a possibility when you are finally agreeing to dates. Sasuke, I have loved you for years and I have endured for years. I know you think I am annoying…and shallow but…but it's not fair, and I deserve at least one honest chance!" She paused watching for a reaction, and when there wasn't one she simply continued. "Sasuke…I don't think I can fully get over you until I know for a fact that you and I wouldn't work. If I knew…then…then I feel like I could move on." She finished lamely, falling onto the cushion as if she were exhausted. For a long time neither of them said anything, they just sat in silence. Sakura found herself wishing she had let him make some tea before she had started so she would at least have something to do with her hands. While she fidgeted her eyes fell on a cup filled with cold tea, she was confused until she remembered Naruto had just been here. Why would Sasuke insist on making tea for Naruto? Naruto would never drink it. Maybe it was for the same reason why she wanted the tea now, just to have something to hold, something to do, a place to direct her attention.

"Ok"

Sakura's head jerked up at the sound of his voice and she was left staring at him eyes wide and speechless. "Ok?" she whispered suddenly finding her throat very dry.

He nodded, his expression blank, "The Cherry Blossom Festival is in a couple of days I can take you to that."

Sakura felt like she was flying! She had forgotten about the festival; that would be perfect! She had the perfect kimono that made her eyes seem to sparkle. If she couldn't get Sasuke to fall in love with her during the night of the festival then there really would be no hope for them. She paused in her elation and looked at him seriously for a moment.

"I know you're doing this as a favor to me Sasuke, thank you. And don't worry, I won't make it out to be more than it is. If you still don't want to date me afterwards I will fully respect that."

Sasuke merely nodded and Sakura took that as a sign that he desperately needed to be by himself. She stood, smiling to herself, and left quickly not wanting to jinx the precious gift Sasuke had just given her. This was her chance; win or lose and ending would be decided and she would finally get to end this chapter of her life. Either she would win Sasuke or she would lose and move on. Although, to be honest, she wasn't sure how he couldn't fall in love with her the night of the festival; surely it would be too romantic to resist?

_Sasuke _

The Uchiha wasn't entirely sure when he had lost complete control of his life, but he was definitely sure that it was all Naruto's fault. Okay, he reflected, maybe he knew exactly when he lost control and maybe it was entirely his own fault for coming back to the village and giving up that control. Sasuke shook his head sharply once to forcibly stop himself from thinking about why he had come back to the village; he would just blame Naruto on principle. Even if it wasn't completely the dobe's fault, surely he was at least partly to blame. Sasuke reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut when he arrived at his destination. He sighed as he stared at Naruto's apartment door, pausing to let his frustration simmer. The dobe had a knack at surprising him and he wanted to make sure he remained good and angry during the entire visit, despite the part of him that was skeptical over how successful he would be. Sasuke knocked on Naruto's door and waited as he heard several loud crashing sounds coming from inside the apartment. After several moments, in which Sasuke felt his annoyance increase, the dobe finally answered the door and stood there looking dumbfounded.

"S-Sauske?" Naruto stuttered, blinking at him rapidly.

"Are you going to let me in or just stand there looking like an idiot?"

"Hey! Who are you calling an idiot you teme!" Naruto shouted shaking his fist in Sasuke's face before stepping aside and letting the dark haired ninja in.

Sasuke moved into the apartment and stared at the clutter that surrounded him. Unlike his home which was always very neat and tidy; Naruto's apartment was so messy Sasuke was pretty sure that if Naruto laid down in the mess, Sasuke would never find him again.

"Naruto, you live like an animal."

"You wanna say that again?!" Naruto shouted once more slamming the door shut and turning to face Sasuke who was already walking into the living room area, or what Sasuke assumed was the living room since there was too much clutter everywhere for Sasuke to be sure. Naruto sulked, following behind the Uchiha before suddenly perking up.

"Hey, why are you here? I mean, it's no problem, but usually…I come to you…ya know?"

Sasuke didn't bother trying to find a seat and instead stood in the middle of the room and stared at Naruto. "I came to tell you to stop butting in on my life."

"Wahh? What are you talking about? I haven't done anything!"

"You must have said something to Sakura while you two were out on your mission, because she came back and basically demanded a date with me."

Naruto gave him a very confused look and shook his head, "What?! That's not my fault!" Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and glanced at the ground before mumbling his next words, "Besides, it's not like that's something new. Her throwing herself at you."

"No, but because of you I had to say yes."

"WHY DOES IT KEEP BEING MY FAULT?!" Naruto shouted waving his hands in the air, before something clicked and they quickly fell back to his side. "Wait…" he said in a small voice, "You're going on a date with Sakura?" Naruto groaned and threw himself onto a pile of clothes which were resting on a chair. "Man…now I really don't have a chance with her if she finally got a date from you."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and refused to feel any pity for the dobe, "Why would you want to date her? She has no interest in you."

Naruto winced but shrugged, "You have no interest in her, yet she still loves you." They were both silent for several minutes; Naruto trying to wrap his head around the fact that his life-long crush was going to be completely unattainable and Sasuke was trying to rekindle his anger in the face of such a depressed looking Naruto. "So why are you going out with her?"

Sasuke stared at Naruto with black unblinking eyes and 'tched' the blond. "Because you convinced me to go on a date with Hinata and now she thinks she has the right to at least one date with me."

"Well, one date with Sakura would be awesome…and it's not my fault!"

"Tch, then you date her." Sasuke had to duck suddenly when a pile of clothing was hurtled at him.

"What do you think I have been trying to do all of these years?!" Naruto shouted, now standing and shaking an accusing finger at the Uchiha.

"Don't throw you're dirty clothing at me, dobe." Sasuke spat, his dark eyes filled with menace and itching for a fight with the blond.

Naruto threw his hands up in the air once more, as if in surrender and fell back down onto the pile of clothes on the chair. "So where are you taking her for your date?"

Sasuke's shoulders relaxed when Naruto went back to his 'seat', his black eyes going back to roaming around the cluttered apartment. "I am taking her to the festival later this week."

Naruto seemed to perk up at his response and grinned up at him, "Oh hey! I'm actually going to that."

"Why?"

Naruto shrugged again waving his hand as if to dismiss Sasuke's question, "I actually have this cool kimono I'm going to wear and I've been saving my money so I have enough to buy a little bit of all of the different food they will be selling." Naruto closed his eyes and rubbed his belly while licking his lips, "The food is the best part!"

Sasuke frowned; having only half listened to the dobe, "We are supposed to wear kimonos?"

Naruto blinked and then nodded, "Yeah, basically everyone does. And Sakura will for sure, so I guess you better as well."

Sasuke frown deepened as he began to realize all of the effort he was going to have to put into this date to satisfy Sakura into thinking that he had at least tried. He really did have the worst of luck.

_Sakura _

Sakura spun in front of her mirror, gleefully watching the fabrics of her dark green kimono spin with her. She had primped for hours, but felt like she was now finally ready. She had managed to braid her hair in two pieces on either side of her head where she pinned both in the back making the braid follow along the crow of her head. She had then knit a few cherry blossom flowers in the braids. She was pleased, but ultimately wished that her hair was brown rather than pink, the flowers would have looked better with brown hair. Her kimono was a dark emerald green which matched her eyes brilliantly and the sash around her waist the bright bubblegum pink of her hair. Even if Sasuke didn't fall in love with her there was no way he wouldn't think she was at least beautiful. For the final touch Sakura took some of her scented oil and dabbed it on her wrist and neck. She grinned and turned away from the mirror to glance out the window. From her window she could see the festival, and she had eagerly watched the preparations for it all day. Now the streets were crowded with street vendors and people enjoying the festival, all to celebrate the blooming of the cherry blossoms. Today was a day of romance, a day of luck. What better place to win the heart of Sasuke than her own lucky day? She grinned, determined to do her best. She went over the list of possible activities in her head again before he would arrive. First, they could enjoy the vendors, get something to eat, and maybe Sasuke would even buy her a small token. They could play a few games or watch the children play, if Sasuke thought that was too childish. Next, they would go to the garden where the trees were located en masse. They could sit under one of the blooming trees and enjoy not only the view but each other as well. At the end there would be the fireworks, Sakura was particularly excited for the fireworks, after all, they would be together in the dark and would get to watch the night sky be lit up by the fireworks. Sakura nearly swooned at the thought; it would be perfect it had to be perfect. She knew she wouldn't get this chance a second time, it was no or never.

Sakura was so wrapped up in her plans for the day she didn't see Sasuke approach her home. It wasn't until her mom came to tell her he was here that she even realized he was in her house. The pink haired ninja jumped at the news and immediately went to meet her teammate.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura wasn't sure what she was going to say, instead all she could think about was how gorgeous Sasuke looked. He was in a deep red kimono, his sash black and a bored look upon his face. She couldn't help but think that he looked like some old handsome war god.

"You look amazing" Sasuke's soft words pulled Sakura out of her daydream and her breath hitched when she realized that he was staring at her, and she could tell that he honestly meant what he said. Her heart soared as she looped her arms through his and smiled up at him.

"Are you ready?" he asked looking down at her, she nodded and they stepped out of the door, Sakura barely able to contain her excitement. She was on a date with Sasuke Uchiha. Literally nothing in this world could ruin this day.

"Where did you get the kimono? It looks great on you!"

"Huh?" he blinked and looked down at her as if he hadn't realized she was still there, "Oh, Naruto told me you would be disappointed if I didn't wear one, so I went out and bought it." He shrugged eyes leaving her face to stare at the people around them, "It fit, so I bought it."

Sakura had to stop herself from biting her lip and frowned inwardly, Naruto had told him? Had Sasuke gone to complain to Naruto? Or did he go to ask advice? Why Naruto? Sakura wasn't sure if she was more troubled by the fact that Naruto had known or that Sasuke had needed to ask in the first place. She shook her head and beamed up at him. It didn't matter, he did it for her, whatever the reason, it was for her. "You look like you could be a war god in disguise!"

"Eh?"

"Well, the colors, the dark red kind of looks like blood, you know? Or your sharingan. It makes you look somewhat ominous…or dangerous, gives you the aura of a god. Like a mystery."

"You think?" Sasuke looked down at himself and shrugged, but Sakura thought that he looked pleased by her words.

"You want something to eat?" he pointed at one of the food stands and Sakura grinned nodding, "I'll be right back."

Sakura tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and grinned at how the day was going; Sasuke had complimented her, enjoyed her compliment, and had offered to get them food without her hinting or anything! This date was absolutely perfect. When Sasuke turned and headed back toward her, Sakura grinned and took a step toward him only to pause when he did. It looked like he was frozen, but his eyes weren't on her, looking to her right she found the person Sasuke's eyes were trained on.

He wore a deep blue kimono which made his eyes quite literally seem to sparkle, the fabric hung around him in waves giving the illusion of water. His blonde hair was a mess of spikes and his smile was giant, as always, but he hadn't noticed his two teammates staring at him. Sakura shook her head sharply and turned to look back at Sasuke only to feel her heart skip a beat. He was still staring. He looked like he had forgotten where he was and what he was doing. He looked like he couldn't look away. He was staring at the blonde, but any of the usual annoyance was completely gone. Instead, his eyes were kind and soft. Sakura felt her tears well up in her eyes as she saw in Sasuke's eyes what she had wanted to see for years, but directed toward another person.

Sakura stumbled taking a step back, only to run into the person behind her. She gave a shout as she fell, but suddenly Sasuke was there; grabbing her by the wrist and stopping her from falling.

"Sasuke-kun" by this point she was almost in tears.

"Are you hurt?" she could hear the confusion in his voice, but it didn't matter. None of it mattered anymore.

"I..I don't feel well. I think I need to go home." She broke away from him before he could reply and ran back to her home as fast as possible. When she got home she locked herself in the bathroom and gripped the sink with white knuckles. She stared at her reflection in the mirror as the tears streamed down her face blurring her vision. This couldn't be happening, it wasn't fair. She had tried so hard, and to lose to him?! Surely anyone else would have been better, even stupid Ino, but no. It had to be him. How was this even possible? When could this have happened? She let out a shout and slammed her fist into the mirror shattering the glass and punching a hole in the wall. She stood there seething with grief and rage, her bloodied fist shaking from its place in the wall. Sasuke was in love with Naruto.

Chapter to Follow: Bonus Chapter: Almost Doesn't Count


	9. Bonus Chapter 2

**Update: Because of all the complaints for the first Bonus Chapter I am going ahead and trimming down the lyrics here too, hopefully this well help since it's only a small part of each song. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliated character. Songs are "Almost Doesn't Count" by Brandy and "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt**

Bonus Chapter: Almost Doesn't Count

Sakura's eyes bristled with angry tears as she took in the beaming trees around her. Every single one was in full bloom, and every single one mocked her with promises of hope and romance. It wasn't fair. The world around her was happy, filled with the life of spring, but she felts like her heart had been ripped from her chest. Wasn't it supposed to be raining; a constant downpour to reflect her mood? Sakura sighed, glad she had at least had the foresight to change out of the kimono and into her regular clothes, before she had left her home. Green eyes winced when she saw a couple holding hands move toward the clearing she was currently occupying. She turned her back on the romance and moved deeper into the forest. She wanted to lash out at the forest around her, but if she did she wasn't sure there would be any trees left to hide the village hidden in the leaves. This knowledge didn't stop her fist from clenching and unclenching. She had done nothing to deserve a betrayal of this magnitude. The idea of Sasuke and Naruto dating almost killed her and it filled her with a rage that had no equal. How could her dark prince be gay? To top it off how could he be in love with someone like stupid Naruto?! Sakura let out a shout but this time she let her fist fly into one of the nearby trees and watched as it splintered and shattered into a thousand pieces.

_Almost made you love me  
Almost made you cry  
Almost made you happy, baby  
Didn't I didn't I_

How was this even possible? Since when was Sasuke gay? Sakura clinched her fist at the thought and picked up her pace, now almost flying through the treetops. He obviously hadn't realized he was gay, why else would he have gone on a date with Hinata? Or always blather on about restoring his clan. Ha! Well he wasn't going to accomplish that now was he? Tears pricked at her eyes, but she shook them away determined to wallow in her bitterness. She had almost done it! If it hadn't of been for stupid Naruto, her and Sasuke would still be on their date enjoying themselves! She could have gotten Sasuke to see how much she truly cared for him, the lengths she was willing to go for him. She would have moved heaven and earth, or died trying, if Sasuke had asked her to. Now… he had looked at Naruto with such longing…with such need. It wasn't even some stupid girl whom she had a chance of besting, instead it was stupid Naruto. Stupid Naruto who knew Sasuke better than she did. Stupid Naruto who had been there for him more than she had. Sakura practically fell on the branch she was jumping too as the tears began to freely fall and she gripped the branch under her on her hands and knees. Stupid stupid Naruto.

Sakura sobbed, her shoulders shaking violently while her tears splattered the branch below her as she found herself once more wishing it was raining. It hardly seemed decent for the sun to be shining so brightly, just a few hours earlier she had been sure such beautiful weather was a sign of good fortune for her and Sasuke. Now it just mocked her in her loneliness. Ugh! If Sasuke hadn't of been so obsessed with revenge in his younger years he could have focused on normal things, like dating, and actually discovered himself; like the fact that he was gay. Sakura shifted so that her back was against the trunk of the tree and her tears now fell in her lap rather than on the branch. How on earth was she supposed to face either of them? Naruto was her best friend, her teammate and Sasuke…Sasuke she had loved for over a decade. She couldn't just cast those feelings aside. Besides, she admitted to herself, Sasuke had kept to his word; he had taken her on a date and actually tried. Neither of them was at fault, but that didn't make it hurt any less. If anything, the knowledge just made her more miserable, because she had no one to blame for her suffering.

_Morning will come,  
And I'll do what's right;  
Just give me till then  
To give up this fight._

The tears continued to run down her face, but her shoulders no longer shook from the effort and she no longer felt the pain welling up inside her threatening to explode. She had to come up with a solution. She had promised Sasuke that if the date did not work she would get over him; and the date had definitely not worked out in her favor. Sooner or later Sasuke would realize that he was gay and in love with Naruto, if he hadn't already. Then he would work on getting Naruto to have the same realization. Sakura laughed suddenly at the thought. She wasn't sure Naruto was gay, Sauske's feelings could all be for naught, but if Naruto was gay, getting him to realize it would be such a trial! She wasn't particularly sure how Sasuke would pull such a feat off. Sakura had to decide on the part she would play and how she would play it, there was no way she wanted to lose either of them as a friend but at the same time she wasn't sure how she could be normal around them. Especially Sasuke, she sighed closing her eyes. She would not mess this up, she cared for them both and wanted them both to be happy, no matter how much it hurt. She just…she would just need some time. Time to adjust. Time to forget.

Chapter to Follow: Aftershock


	10. Chapter 7

Whoops, look at that an update! Sorry for the long delay, my apartment flooded so I was otherwise indisposed. I should be back on track now though. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliated characters**

Chapter 7: Aftershock

Naruto tossed his jacket to the floor before he fell on his bed face first. It had been a rough couple of days. Apparently Tsunade had decided that he had too much downtime after his and Sakura's big mission and had begun piling on the missions. Naruto groaned rolling over so that he was facing up and rubbed at his left shoulder. At least they were all real missions and he wasn't having to do anything stupid like rescue cats. Naruto closed his eyes, grinning to himself as he remembered team 7's first several missions. Finally, he could think about such things and not feel depressed. Sasuke was home, and as soon as his probation was over the three of them would be able to go on missions again. It would be like old times, except for the fact that Sakura and Sasuke were probably dating now. Naruto flinched at the thought and sat up frowning. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen either of them in a while. He had been kept busy so much with his missions, he had barely had time to sleep much less make any social calls. He frowned again, blue eyes drifting toward the ceiling. They were both probably glad for the alone time, and had spent the past couple of days being gross with each other. Naruto shook his head sharply; he needed to get over this. The important thing is that they would both be happy. Sakura would have finally won Sasuke and Sasuke would be able to finally experience love. If only the knowledge would make him feel less lonely. Grabbing his jacket, Naruto stood and went out the door. It was time to visit Sasuke and Sakura, besides he left for Suna in the morning and he wanted to see them both before he left on his mission.

Naruto laced his fingers behind his head while he walked through Konoha. The village was always alive at this time of year and it seemed that there were more academy students skipping class than usual. Naruto couldn't blame them, the weather made him just as restless. He wanted to be out and doing something at all times, wanted to be moving. A wide grin spread across his face as he neared the Uchiha complex and began his ritual of trying to find all of the Anbu. He was getting a lot better, in the beginning he could only find maybe half of the Anbu on a good day, but now he frequently found all but one of them. That one he was assuming was the captain. He could probably sense him in sage mode, but it seemed like a waste of time to sit and gather nature energy to enter sage mode to find one friendly person.

Naruto swung the door to Sasuke's house open, letting himself in, and had already taken off his shoes and shouted a greeting when he froze. What if Sakura was here? What if he were barging in and they were…! Naruto felt a shiver run up the length of his spine and he bolted back outside, shutting the door so hard the house actually shook. He stood in front of the door for a moment in a panic. If Sakura had heard him, and he was pretty sure she would have, he was so dead! She would kill him! That was it; this was how Naruto Uzumaki was going to die. He turned to run like hell before she could catch him when he realized that he had left his shoes inside.

He was still standing at the door wondering what to do about his forgotten shoes when Sasuke opened the door with a bored look on his face.

"What are you doing, moron?"

"I-I-I mean…uh, that is. Do you…Is there…"

Sasuke watched Naruto standing there stammering for about five seconds before he turned around and went back inside the house, leaving the door open for Naruto to follow and muttering something about an idiot under his breath. Naruto stood there for a second longer, but when Sakura did not show herself he shrugged and walked back into the house, shutting the door behind him. Naruto Uzumaki would live another day. The sound of water in the kitchen led Naruto to Sasuke.

"Sorry," the blonde mumbled as he watched Sasuke begin to boil water for their tea, "I realized Sakura might be here and didn't want to intrude."

Silence was his only answer. A frown spread across the blonde's face as he stared at Sasuke's back. Sasuke did not look nearly as clean and together as the last time he had seen him. Sasuke's clothes were covered in wrinkles and showed signs of blood and dirt stains, his hair didn't look brushed, or washed for that matter, and Naruto could see the traces of bruises along his arms.

"Sasuke…what the hell happened?"

At the sound of his name, Sasuke finally turned toward Naruto revealing a face that, while cleaner than the rest of him, held dark circles under his eyes showing his recent lack of sleep. However, instead of answering Naruto's question, Sasuke brushed past the blonde for two cups and continued to ignore him.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, taking a step forward and grabbing Sasuke by the shoulder to force him to face the blonde. "What the hell happened?!"

Blue eyes stared into black as each ninja glared defiantly back at the other. Naruto's blue eyes searched Sasuke's for any clue as to what might have happened or what was wrong, but the black eyes were void of all emotional and just stared back at him empty and hollow. Naruto knew those eyes, and it wasn't good. Those eyes couldn't be here, they could not be back again. Those eyes belonged to the old Sasuke, the one who had abandoned them, the one who had tried to destroy the Leaf, the one who had tried to kill him.

"Sasuke, please" Blue eyes were begging now. He couldn't lose him again, not after they had come so far. They were so close. Why now? What had happened?

"Nothing happened, now let me go."

Naruto didn't let him go, he couldn't let him go. He would never let him go again, not after all he had been through to find him again. Instead, Naruto punched him, or rather he tried to punch him, but before his fist could make contact with Sasuke's face Sasuke moved to the side and grabbed Naruto's wrist extending his arm further out and down to cause Naruto to flip over his own fist and land on his back.

"If you're just going to hit me then you can leave." Sasuke turned to leave the room, but Naruto was already on his feet and was following the dark haired shinobi again.

"Did it not go well with Sakura? Is that why you're so mad?"

Sasuke spun on his heel to turn and shove Naruto back against the wall and pin him there, his breathing heavy and his eyes angry. Black eyes glared down at the blue which were staring up at Sasuke in defiance.

"Get it through your thick skull. I. Don't. Care. About. The. Pink. Bitch. Got it?"

Naruto's hands clenched in a fist and he suddenly found himself yelling, "Don't call her that! How could you be so inconsiderate?!" A strange look took hold in Sasuke's eyes, something that Naruto couldn't identify through his rage. He was about to punch the other shinobi when he began to lean forward slightly. There was a brief moment when they both stood inches from the other only for Sasuke to suddenly push himself off of Naruto using the wall and back away.

"Get out." The words were whispered, Naruto could barely hear them and he was less than two feet away, but he still knew what Sasuke had said, what he wanted. Yet, he stayed rooted to the spot unable to move.

"I said get out." Sasuke's voice was louder now, the hesitation gone and replaced by his anger.

"I'm not leaving; tell me what's going on!"

"I said get out." Sasuke's black eyes flashed red as his sharingan began to swirl into being. "Get out of my house."

Naruto's blue eyes stared back at Sasuke in defiance, his fist clenched and his bare feet firmly planted. "I am not leaving."

"You will leave, or I will leave Konoha" Sasuke hadn't finished speaking before the two shinobi were surrounded by the Anbu who had been charged with guarding the Uchiha and making sure he did not leave the Leaf. Naruto clenched his teeth together as he watched the Anbu materialize around him, weapons ready. This was a disaster; he couldn't just leave, but those eyes… He looked into Sasuke's red eyes again, relieved to see the emptiness was gone and they were now seething in anger. Anger was better than nothing, anger meant he still cared. Anger meant they were still connected. Naruto gathered his shoes in silence slipping them on his feet.

"I have a mission in Suna starting tomorrow, you better be here when I get back Sasuke!" Naruto's declaration echoed throughout the house as he stood, finger pointed at his rival. He didn't expect a reply, but the fact that Sasuke's eyes did not mock him gave Naruto hope. He would still be here, mad, but here. Anything was better than nothing. Without another word he slipped out of the house shutting the door behind him.

Naruto, however, did not head home. Instead he turned his feet toward Sakura's determined to at least get some answers before he left for tomorrow. Naruto clenched and unclenched his fist as he walked concerned about his mission and Sasuke. Sasuke would be here, he believed in him, he knew the Uchiha had changed and he could see it in his eyes, but he did not know where his rival would stand once he got back. Sasuke may still be in Konoha, but what if things changed between him and Sasuke? Naruto shook his head; blue eyes shining with determination, as long as Sasuke was here, nothing else mattered.

He knocked on Sakura's door and waited impatiently for her to answer; when she did he couldn't help but notice how sad she looked when she saw him. Something really was wrong.

"What happened?" he demanded, pushing past her into her home before she even had a chance to greet him. He wasn't going to let her pretend like nothing was wrong, something had happened and he would know the truth damnit!

"Naruto, I don't know what you're talking-"

Naruto turned on her, cutting her off, "Don't tell me you don't know. I just came from Sasuke's and he threw me out and he looked like shit! Something happened that you're not telling me."

He watched as her green eyes drifted downward to stare at the floor as she began to chew on her bottom lip. Naruto took a step forward and gently grabbed her hands in hers, blue eyes shining with intensity. "Sakura please, I have to know. What happened?" He gulped as he let his mind imagine the worst, until he saw the small water marks on the floor and realized that Sakura was crying. "No, Sakura! Don't cry! It's okay! It's okay!" Naruto waved his hands frantically, before reaching back to scratch his head. "I don't understand what's going on."

When Sakura looked up to wipe away her tears, Naruto was surprised to see her smiling, only increasing his confusion.

"Oh Naruto" she sniffed wiping the tears away from her eyes, "You are so incredibly stupid."

Naruto felt like he had just been hit, gloom descending over him instantly as he let his head and shoulders stoop down toward the ground in defeat. "Sakura-chan, don't be so mean."

Sakura smiled and reached out and lightly squeezed his hand causing him to look up and meet her gaze, "Our date didn't go well, I realized he was in love with someone else."

Naruto balked at her words and shook his head, "No way!" he shouted his excitement rising, "Who is it?! You have to tell me!" Naruto threw his fist in the air only to stop suddenly and blink as a frown claimed his features once more. "But wait…that explains why you would be sad…why is he so upset?"

Sakura studied him for a long time; long enough to make Naruto shift uncomfortably under her gaze and begin to worry he was going to get hit for something he said. He wasn't sure what he had said that had been offensive, but he really didn't want to get hit and have to go to Suna covered in a bunch of bruises.

"I think…" Sakura began slowly before meeting Naruto's gaze and grinning, "There has just been too much blue skies and sunshine."

Chapter to follow- Chapter 8: All That Glistens


	11. Chapter 8

**A/N: **You guys aren't going to believe me, but I dropped and broke my laptop last weekend while writing the chapter and it has been very stressful. On another note, for anyone interested I made a twitter for the fanfiction to give updates and answer any questions. It's under KurleyChain. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliated characters**

Chapter 8: All That Glistens

The sun was hanging low in the sky, casting off an array of reds, yellows, and oranges. Each of the sun's colors were taken in and then reflected back by the rolling waves that washed upon the sandy shores. Sasuke sat on the shore; legs close enough to the water's edge so that with each rumbling wave, water rushed over him up to his knees. He wasn't entirely sure where he was, or even how he had gotten to such a place, but the warmth of the sun was making him feel lazy and the rhythmic push and pull of the ocean gave him the sensation that as the water melted back to the ocean after each wave carried his troubles away with it. Somewhere off in the distance he could hear music drifting out onto the beach. Part of him was urging his entire being to get up, to go find the music, to find out what was going on, but the sun was warming his skin while the sand and the water was cleansing him of all of his worries. A few more minutes wouldn't hurt, he reasoned, closing his eyes and basking in the sunlight. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so relaxed, so calm. Wherever this place was he needed to come here more often.

Hearing footsteps in the sand, Sasuke let out a soft groan of protest before forcing his eyes open and turning his head to see who was behind him. Naruto stood a couple of feet away, he had donned a pair of khaki shorts and an orange tank that showed off his well toned arms and his deliciously tanned skin. His blues eyes were as blue and as deep as the sea, penetrating Sasuke's soul while his hair was shining brightly, almost glistening from the setting sun. Sasuke wasn't entirely sure when he had stopped looking at the sea.

"I've been looking for you!" Naruto greeted giving him a huge smile as the blonde moved closer.

Sasuke turned his attention back toward the sea, focusing on the feel of the waves rushing up his legs to his knees. "I've been here."

"Thanks asshole, I gathered that much."

Naruto came up behind Sasuke and kneeled down to his knees behind the Uchiha and wrapped his tan arms over the other boys pale shoulders. Sasuke glanced up at the blonde and watched as he closed his endless blue eyes and nuzzled into Sasuke's neck.

"I don't want to leave."

In response Naruto began nibbling on Sasuke's neck. Sasuke felt his breath hitch before letting out a small moan and tilting his head to the side to allow Naruto more access. Naruto's tongue began to swirl small circles over Sasuke's hot skin eliciting another moan before Sasuke turned in the blondes arms and pushed them both down onto the sand, Sasuke landing on top of Naruto, straddling him around the waist. Brilliant blue eyes met dark ones as the two stared at the other for a long moment, each taking in the other.

"Sasuke…" Naruto began, but Sasuke didn't want to hear it, something told him that if he heard what Naruto was going to say that it would ruin everything. Instead, he did what he had wanted to do since the blonde had come up behind him. Sasuke laced his fingers into the soft yellow hair and pressed their lips together hungrily demanding entrance. Naruto relented and Sasuke sucked on Naruto's lip briefly before he began exploring the other's mouth with his tongue. Suddenly, Naruto stopped the kiss and pulled back, resting his head in the hand. He nuzzled his cheek against Sasuke's hand and raised his own hand to rest against Sasuke's cheek, before pulling the Uchiha down and whispering in his ear.

"This isn't real."

Sasuke jerked awake sitting straight up in the bed; he was covered in sweat, his breathing heavy, and he was sporting a very uncomfortable hard on. Sasuke let out a shout and a string of curses that probably impressed the Anbu who were watching him before he moved to slam his head back down on the bed; unfortunately he hit the wall instead. More curses ensued. Despite his pain and anger, his…problem was not going away. Sasuke covered his eyes with his arm while he debated his options; he could jerk off knowing full well it would be to the idea of that dumbass or he could go take a really cold and really long shower. The shower won, it was bad enough the times Sasuke had found release in his sleep due to those dreams, there was no way he was going to start doing it while awake.

Growling out a series of curses, Sasuke moved to the bathroom, slamming doors as he went, and turned on the water. He stepped under the freezing water and rested his forehead against the shower wall while the cold water slapped him awake. He had been having these dreams for a while now, almost nightly; and apparently he had a great imagination because the dreams rarely repeated and would feature him and Naruto in various locations and positions. Honestly, tonight's dream had been pretty tame compared to some of the others. He could feel the back of his neck begin to grow hot from the thought so he stubbornly threw his head under the water. What the hell? Why was he having wet dreams about the damn dobe? Surely his sub-conscious had better things to do then get aroused by the blonde. Sasuke shook his head, trying to free his mind from the lecherous thoughts which had begun to plague him, and closed his eyes as he waited for the cold water to fully wake him up and restore his sanity.

While he waited, his mind drifted off to think about Naruto; Sasuke had been such an asshole the last time Naruto had been here. Instead of being a normal person and just talking to the dobe before he left for weeks on a mission, Sasuke had spent the entire time trying to forget the dreams instead. The entire ordeal still frustrated him to no end, he had half hoped with the dobe gone for so long the dreams would stop, but it seemed likely they had only increased with Naruto's absence. He was waking up almost every night either hard or…sticky, both options ended with him and a cold shower. Damnit, this had all started because of that stupid date with Sakura.

He had gone to pick her up and was honestly impressed with out good she looked, her kimono made her look flawless and he was doubly pleased when she told him he had looked like a war god. While it was an odd comment, it was better than her just gushing about how good he looked. In all likelihood he had probably taken the compliment so well because it was so odd and he hadn't already heard it a thousand times. Everything had been going well and he had almost been enjoying himself, in fact he had been a little annoyed at how little Sakura was annoying him, but then he had left her to go get food and everything had become very annoying. He had been walking back to Sakura, only to notice her attention was on someone to his left and when he had turned to look, he quickly found who Sakura had been staring at. While Sakura had looked good, Naruto had looked incredible, it was no wonder why she had been staring. Sasuke frowned at that particular memory and shook his head, allowing himself to get out of the shower and dry off while his mind began analyzing their talk again, anything was better than thinking about Naruto.

_Flashback_

Sasuke sat in the kitchen sipping a cup of green tea, while he stared at the book laid out on the table. He found the book particularly offensive since it was about different types of jutsus and chakra control. Both topics he found interesting, however, the book did not offer up much knowledge he did not already have and was quickly proving to be a waste of his time. He should have gotten another history book instead. He had hoped to increase his abilities, but he had already learned the majority of the techniques in the book before he had even entered the academy. It was beginning to look like the public library was not going to be a wealth of information in his attempt to get stronger.

Sasuke paused with his cup halfway to his lips when he felt Sakura's chakra enter the Uchiha compound. Putting the cup down he moved to begin making more hot water, he figured he had a couple of minutes of her standing at the door and he could get the tea ready while she decided to come see him. It was these first couple of minutes of Sakura's visits that always bothered him the most, when she would just stand outside as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to see him or not. Frankly, it pissed him off, it made him feel like a burden and there was nothing Sasuke Uchiha liked less then feeling like a burden. Despite this, he still had not said anything about it, which was truly the biggest puzzle for him. At first he had just assumed that he didn't care, but as he found himself getting annoyed every time she came over, he had to admit that he obviously cared. Then he thought he was just doing it for Naruto's sake, because Naruto wanted him to be nice to Sakura, but he despised that option, so obviously that couldn't be the case. He had recently decided he kept allowing it because it gave him a sense of power; she was obviously still unsure and hesitant around him which meant he had control of the situation.

Right as the water began to boil, he heard Sakura finally decide to knock on the front door. He opened the door to see her standing on his doorstep head down and staring at the ground, her thumb massaging her wrist. He couldn't see her face but he was pretty sure she was biting her lip again; she really needed to get over that habit.

"Haven't seen you in a while." He was probably only cranky from a lack of proper sleep, but surely someone just up and running away during a date was grounds to be annoyed, or at the very least grounds to take out other annoyances on that person.

"Can I come in?"

Sasuke held the door open for her, glad that at least she wasn't stuttering. In all honesty it had been over a week since Naruto had left and he was a little glad for the company, but just barely. He led her to the kitchen and got out a cup for her and poured her the tea; there was a certain type of solace in a familiar routine, which probably explained why he insisted making tea for everyone who came over, even the people who he knew wouldn't drink it.

"I wanted to talk to you about the other day."

"What day?"

Green eyes glared up at him and he was surprised to see her actually angry, he hadn't thought it was possible for Sakura to get mad at him.

"Look," she began through clenched teeth, "What I did was shitty, but I have been in love with you for as long as I have known you, and even if you can't understand it's a bit of a blow to realize that person is… not available."

Sasuke raised a brow and took a sip of his tea, "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"I ran out on you, and then I avoided you for three weeks."

Sasuke eyed Sakura wearily, watching as she clenched her hands into a fist and seemed to shake with the effort of not hitting him or the table, this was certainly a new development and judging by how often she hit Naruto, he thought he should let up a little so that she didn't go smashing his home. He wasn't sure what he could say to her that wouldn't be snide, so he decided to take another sip of his tea, figuring silence was his best option. It seemed to do the trick and after a couple of moments of silence she relaxed her fist and let her hands rest around her cup of tea.

"I know I promised that if in the end you didn't want me, you know, in a romantic way I would get over it and would just be your friend…I know…I haven't kept that promise. I just…I just need more time. When I said that I figured if we didn't work out it would just be because you thought I was annoying or something…it never occurred to me that it would be because you were interested in someone else." She stopped and glanced up at him abruptly as if to gauge her reaction, but Sasuke was mostly just confused. What was she talking about? Interested in someone else? Was she stupid? Not that he was going to say anything, he didn't want her to think they could date again, but he was curious as to how she had gotten the idea in her head.

"I just need to get used to the idea of you with him…like that. It just seems so out of the blue to me. I mean, when I look back it makes sense of course. You know what they say, hindsight's 20/20. It's just…it's weird to think that it would be him…Not that there is anything wrong with that! I just…" Sakura's eyes had fallen to the ground and she seemed to be making an effort not to look at him.

Sasuke watched her curiously, not entirely sure what was going on, or what she was talking about. What on earth was she trying to say? And why was she so damned flustered trying to say it? He almost opened his mouth to tell her to get on with it, but then he thought better of endangering his table, it was an antique after all, and chose to continue to remain quiet.

"Look I'm sorry. I'm just rambling. I'm here because I wanted to apologize and tell you that I am still your friend, I just need a little space right now, but I didn't want you to think I didn't want to be your friend anymore because I realized we can't be together. You're important to me Sasuke. You and Naruto both are, and I really just want the best for both of you, I just need time to deal with the hurt."

Well, apparently she hadn't wanted him to say a damn thing because after she finished her little speech she stood, lightly squeezed his hand, and then left of her own accord; leaving him sitting in the kitchen confused as hell. It had been several minutes later when he had realized that the person she thought he was interested in was a guy, and then that she probably thought he liked Naruto.

_End of Flashback _

Sasuke sighed as he walked through Konoha with his stands stuffed deep inside his pants pocket. He wore a light black jacket to help keep back the early morning chilly spring air and he had the hood pulled up and his chin tucked into the jacket. He hadn't been paying attention to where he was going while he mulled over what Sakura had said. Normally he would have just ignored her, but the fact that he kept having those dreams about Naruto was making him at least recognize what she thought. Not that she was right or anything, but obviously if he was having sex dreams about his ex-teammate he had crossed some sort of line along the way. Not that he knew what that line was or how he had crossed it, he just knew it had been during the festival when he had noticed how good Naruto had looked. Surely that was not enough to suddenly make him gay for the dobe? Sasuke muttered another string of curses under his breath as he walked; these were not the type of problems he wanted to deal with. Quite frankly, he didn't care and would have loved to forget the entire ordeal, if only he would stop waking up in the middle of the night.

"Sasuke-kun?" A small hesitant voice brought him back to reality. He noticed he had wandered over to the training grounds, where Hinata was getting in an early morning training session. He had talked to her a few times after their 'date' and he was surprised to find he enjoyed her company. She was very dedicated; what she did not have in natural skill, she made up for excessive amounts of training.

"Want a sparring partner?"

She nodded and he took his place across from her, pulling down the hood of his jacket and moving into a fighting stance. His sharingan flashed to life the same instant her byakugan pulsed into being; seconds later they began. They both moved like lightning and while they were not evenly matched, Hinata was able to block Sasuke's most devastating attacks letting her continue the fight after each hit. Hinata saw an opening and thrust her open palm toward his head. He crouched to avoid her punch and shifted his weight to his hands so he could kick out at her legs. She saw his kick coming and put her hands on his shoulders using him to push herself off the ground and flip over him. Despite her evasion, she landed too close to the Uchiha and he shifted swinging his legs around in a half circle. His kick connected this time and Hinata felt her legs being kicked out from under her, and suddenly she was on her back, Sasuke above her. After they caught their breath, Sasuke offered his hand to help her stand up.

"Again." She said sliding back into a fighting stance. He complied and they once more became two blurs meeting and then parting again and again across the training grounds. Their movements were too fast for anyone without ocular powers to easily keep track of, but who was winning would be made clear every few minutes when the fight would stop with Hinata on the ground only to breathlessly say "again" and then they would be off colliding over and over until the sun had finally risen above the horizon and both parties had removed their jackets and were covered in sweat.

They sat next to each other on a bench facing the training grounds. Hinata had put her jacket back on, but Sasuke had decided to carry his, sweat still glistening on his skin from the training. They were silent for a long while, but Sasuke could sense that Hinata was trying to work up the nerve to say something so he had decided to wait and see what she had to say. It was annoying always having to wait for her to say anything, but when she did speak it was usually intelligent and Sasuke had found it was generally worth the minor annoyances of the wait to hear her opinions and thoughts. Especially when it was about them training, while she had never beat him, it didn't stop her eyes from noticing when he had made a mistake or when he had missed an opening, he could certainly learn more from her then he could that stupid book.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to talk about what was bothering you." When she finally spoke it was barely above a whisper and Sasuke had to strain to hear what she was saying, when he did he turned and frowned at her. "I mean," she began hurriedly; "since Naruto is gone I know you don't talk to a lot of people. I just wanted to offer. If you don't that is fine!"

Another frown, was he that obvious? Did he display his emotions so much that random people could see what he was feeling? He internally shook his head, Hinata wasn't exactly a random person and the girl was also remarkably perceptive, she was the only one who probably would have noticed.

"Just something Sakura said." He frowned again at his own admission, it seemed like Hinata had been right and he did want someone to talk to. With that thought he eyed her carefully, Hinata was incredibly perceptive maybe she could give him some insight. "Sakura seems to think that I'm interested in Naruto."

"L-l-l-like a crush?" Hinata was now a deep red and Sasuke could have kicked himself when he saw her reaction, she had a crush on Naruto, of course, she would be no help. He was just about to tell her to forget it and to leave when her next sentence made him freeze. "I guess that would make sense."

What would make sense? Make sense of what? Was she honestly suggesting that him liking Naruto would _make sense_?! That was it; obviously everyone in this damn village had gone insane.

"And that would make sense how?" Sasuke sounded a little more annoyed then he had intended, but annoyed or not she wasn't going to get out of answering his question no matter how long he had to wait. He needed to know what these people were seeing so he could immediately stop whatever it was they were misinterpreting.

Surprisingly, him being annoyed didn't scare her off that much, "Well, you two have such a long history. It's obvious Naruto is dedicated to you because he spent so many years trying to find you. It makes sense you would have a deep connection with him because he never gave up on you and he seems to be the only one who knows the real you. Also you feel the most comfortable around him…For years the only positive influence in your life was Naruto, and even when you two were a part you knew he was looking for you, thinking about you, and that he cared for you."

Sasuke sat stunned, uncomfortable with the insight Hinata was currently offering him. "Even if we had such a connection, why would it be a romantic one?"

Sasuke had just been trying to prove her wrong, and show that he wasn't falling in love with the dobe, but when he saw her actually pause to think about his question his stomach did a little flip.

"Well, it probably has to do with the fact that you are the most relaxed and willing to have a romantic relationship you've ever been, and he is the only person you have a connection with deep enough that it could become romantic."

"Hinata, he's a _guy_" Sasuke said firmly, as if she had missed that little fact and it would change her entire argument.

Hinata made eye contact with him them and offered him a small smile before shaking her head, "I don't think that matters, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke shook his head and stood abruptly, shrugging his jacket back on and flipping the hood up. "This whole damn village has gone insane." He didn't wait for a reply, instead he jumped up onto the nearest rooftop and began racing back toward the Uchiha compound. They had all gone crazy, or it was some kind of joke. Naruto was trying to get back at him for being an asshole before he left for Suna. Sasuke grunted as he ran jumping from one roof to another, none of that explained the dreams…Sasuke slid to a stop. A loud explosion pulling him from his thoughts. One glance told him he was near the Hokage Mountain. He watched in dismay as the faces on the mountain began to crumble and he realized that the explosion had come from the mountain.

"Shit" The mountain was beginning to crumble, and it was going to cause a rock slide into the village. He leapt into the air only to feel a hand grab his jacket from behind and slam him onto the ground. Dust was now covering the village, obstructing his view of his attacker, but before he could react he felt a kick to his head and suddenly his world went black.

Chapter to follow: Chapter 9- The Cold Hard Truth


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